Back to Hell, I Mean School
by crazy novelist-san
Summary: Really angsty, Yaoi fic. AU. Noncon. Adult themes. DEFINITELY not for minors. There is plot. The rating is for safety. Actual summary inside. Cookies to reviewers! Chapter 6 up! GaaxNaru, sorry SasuxNaru fans!
1. Prologue

**Back to Hell, I Mean School  
By: Shozetsku  
Disclaimer/Warnings/Authoress Notes/Summary:**

I do not own Naruto, I own my ideas and my made up names. Please don't sue me I am a penniless fanfiction writer and you won't get anything anyways.

Shonen ai, non-con, cursing, loads of angst, violence, flashbacks, AU, material that some might find to be disturbing, and definite OOC-ness; I make no claims to being in character in this fic, actually if they end up being so, I've done something wrong.

I want it clear, this is a YAOI fic! Don't you dare read this and call me sick because it's your option to hit that convenient 'back' button. Also, this is not a happy fic, I don't claim it to be; there will be drama and lots of it. If you have a problem with any of this I implore you NOT to read this. To all of you who don't give a damn, sorry about the delay, on with the ficcie!

Naruto's life sucked in a different way then most people would expect. His parents both died the day he was born, he has a demon inside him, and from his eighth to his twelfth birthday he can't remember anything. Or rather something happened that he doesn't _want_ to remember. Naruto is now going to high school, a _real_ high school, and nothing scares him more then who he might find there.

**Prologue:** Bad news and Worse Memories

Naruto got home, kicked off his shoes, and threw his bag in the general direction of his desk through the right-hand door. "Oji-san! I'm home!" he called as usual, so far his whole day had been pretty routine, he went to see tutor for his mandatory hell--_Education_, had an appointment with his psychiatrist, and hopped the train home.

But there was no sarcastic "Oi, Naruto! Get your ass in here and help me cook dinner or you won't get any!" Instead his uncle's voice was deflated, if downright upset and soft like he was apologizing with every word. "Naruto come to the Kitchen, we need to talk."

Naruto started feeling like something bad was going to happen; warily he did as he was told. There, at the table, was his uncle. On the table was a mess of papers and envelopes. There was nothing to indicate that they were having dinner that night Naruto noticed, looking around the familiar room. His uncle saw what he was looking for, "I thought we'd eat out tonight, you can pick the restaurant."

Normally this was wonderful news but Naruto neither liked the look on his uncle's face nor the tone in which he said it. Again it was like going out to eat was to apologize for something. Naruto was coming to dread whatever it was his uncle was going to tell him. "It's about the bills."

That was all Naruto needed to hear, he sat down across from the older man. He knew his uncle was going to beat around the bush; he hated giving bad news as much as Naruto hated hearing it. "Naruto, we nee to have a roof over our heads, we need to have electricity, running water, and heating. We need to pay for your psychiatrist because your mental health is so important to me. We need to have money to eat. But what we don't need is your tutor, you just feel more comfortable going to one... Naruto, at this point, I can't pay for all the things we need _and_ for your tutor. Not if you want to eat."

"I need to go on a diet anyways!" Naruto said a little louder than necessary but this was only out of fear, he didn't like what his uncle was getting at. But his only reply was a small mirthless laugh, "Naruto, the day you give up food is the day I do, and that is never going to happen." He paused, "But there are two options, but you won't like either of them at all."

Naruto's expression darkened but he said nothing, "I..I could use the money in 'THAT' account to pay your tu-" Naruto did speak this time, "I'm _not_ going to let you pay my tutor with that _dirty_ money! I never wanted it! It's for you so I can take good care of you when you're an old fart, like you did for me when I was a baby..." Naruto trailed off, he had just reminded himself of two of the worst times of his life.

"Then, I'm sorry Naruto, but the only other option is to send you to a real school again." He looked at his nephew, his eyes were glassy, and he looked as though he was about to cry, but neither of them had cried in years...

"I...I just can't! He'll be there! Even if he isn't, it'll feel like it! Behind every door... around every corner... behind me... watching me... Oji-san, I'll break if I go back... I can't do it, I'm too afraid of him."

"It sounds to me like you've already given up..."

Naruto looked at his uncle warily, he knew that tone, if there was on thing his uncle never tolerated, giving up was defiantly in the top five. Naruto sat up straighter, and tried to convince his uncle that he wasn't giving up. But his uncle held up an hand to stop him, "We're going to be fair about this, you're no just going to suddenly go to a real school; not many schools will take you because of the lawsuit and all, but there is one..."

Naruto sat farther back in his chair away from his uncle; surely the old-man had finally cracked, right? He couldn't be talking about... "Oji-san, you can't be talking about Takeuchi high! Of all the school's he'll be there!"

"Naruto, how do you even know he's not still in that juvenile facility?" Naruto was getting angry at his Oji-san for treating him like a child.

"I'm not a moron, Oji-san! I read the newspaper article, he got out about a year ago for good behavior and glowing reports of rehabilitation form his psychiatrist! I still have to see mine! But the reason the story made the front page is because less then a week after he left the facility his roommate hanged himself! 'Wherever he goes he leaves destroyed lives in his wake it seems' the receptionist was reported to have said. And after that she got fired! I read the story carefully Oji-san, I'm no fool!"

Naruto heard the ringing silence that filled the room after he stopped speaking, when had he started shouting? When did he stand up?

"Naruto if there is another way I'm not seeing please tell me! If there is any way, ANY WAY to get around this just tell me! I don't want to send you there, so don't make me out to be the bad guy."

Everything Naruto had wanted to yell at his uncle died in his throat. He looked at the man who had raised him from birth and wanted in any and every way possible to take back the hurtful words he had said. He went to his uncle and hugged him, he started shaking; he was scared, scared of what the future held for him.

"I-I-it'd be pretty ridiculous for anyone else to be so scared of just going to school, ne Oji-san?" he said with an equally shaky voice.

"For you its ok Naruto, for anyone else, they're a chicken-shit." He said kindly. Naruto laughed, "You're funny Kyuubi oji-san."

"So are you, but looks aren't everything." Was the reply. Naruto pushed his uncle away and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "That was mean Oji-san."

"So, are we gonna go out for some ramen?" Naruto asked tentatively, his uncle nodded and Naruto began to smile a bit. For right now he had the prospect of yummy ramen to distract him from his utter fear of going back to a real school and the chance that he might see Itachi again.

Naruto's heart stopped, he had not remembered his name in years, this was bad. The fear came flooding back to him noises filled his head, images flashed before his eyes, and he remembered exactly what had happened to him when he was eight years old. The horrible truth pushed through his every attempt to fight it back down.

He was raped...

By Itachi.

**End the drama here!**

Oh, by the way, Oji means uncle. Just in case you wondered. And no, Naruto's Oji-san is NOT Actually the Kyuubi but his actual uncle that I made up. But I'll get into that in later chapters if I am convinced to continue this story.

If you do or don't like it please tell me what you honestly think. This is my first attempt at real angst and I want to do my best at it. ... Oh yeah, this story is dedicated to my friend Kyuu-san, my beta and fellow angst lover! Hope you like it Kyuu-san!

The review button is calling for you to click on it! Do not disappoint the review button.


	2. Bad Feelings and Confirmed Suspicions

**Back to Hell, I Mean School  
By: Shozetsku  
Disclaimer/Warnings/Authoress Notes:**

I do not own Naruto, I own my ideas and my made up names. Please don't sue me, I am a penniless fanfiction writer and you won't get anything anyways.

Shonen ai, non-con, cursing, loads of angst, violence, flashbacks, AU, material that some might find to be disturbing, and definite OOC-ness; I make no claims to being in character in this fic, actually if they end up being so, I've done something wrong.

To the Hell! I mean school! Whatever, it all means the same thing! It means Naruto must face hell, or school, cause he's goin'! But what will he find there? You wanna know? Then on with the ficcie!

**Chapter 2:** Bad Feelings and Confirmed Suspicions

Naruto had very little to be glad about when he awoke that dreary Monday morning. He couldn't wake up when it pleased him anymore but at the crack of dawn, something he was not used to. His uncle couldn't get off work to go with Naruto to his new school. Naruto had to take the train by himself and there was very little keeping him from not showing up to his new school at all. Naruto really wanted to throw up. As soon as he woke up he had a bad feeling hanging over him like some invisible noose waiting to tighten around his neck at the moment everything went to hell. He was so glad that he had, for the first time in his life, skipped breakfast.

When the train arrived at the stop closest to his school the only thing that kept him going forward was the fear of the beating his uncle would give him if he cut. Not that his uncle was abusive! He loved Naruto like a son; he just had zero tolerance for anyone who would give up before trying at something, that and getting caught. He felt that if you must do something stupid and you get caught you deserve it. Needless to say Naruto had a very interesting and turbulent upbringing. Naruto approached the main building as though he was a condemned man. The buildings were imposing large brick structures that made one think of a fortress.

Naruto passed by the other students without even seeing them. He was petrified of looking anyone in the eye. He pushed though the main double doors and looked up to find a sign that told him the office was on the second floor. He sighed, wondering why the hell the office would be upstairs but climbed none the less.

On the landing between the floors Naruto paused for a moment to catch his breath, those stairs were much steeper then they looked! It was a good thing he did because someone came falling from the stairs he caught them before they could fall.

"KYAA!" _Okay_, it was a girl; not that Naruto would _purposely_ use her falling down a fight of stairs as an excuse to cop a feel. Not on purpose anyways, but he didn't mind in the least. (A.N: OK, so he thinks he's straight at this point, don't worry that'll be fixed!)

The girl pushed off of him and tucked her hair out of her face. "Thank you so much! I could have broken something!" she stopped and really looked at him. "I've never seen you before, are you new?"

Okay, it was a _pretty_ girl. "Y-Yeah, uhh... can you help me find the office? I need to get a schedule and stuff." He was hoping that the pretty girl would walk him to the office, but no such luck. She fixed her bag on her shoulder and picked up a fallen folder.

"Uhh, yeah. Up the stairs on your right. The whole front of it is made of glass panels so it's pretty hard to miss; oh, and the door is the fifth panel, most people get confused." She pointed up the stairs over her shoulder, she was halfway down the stairs when she turned, "Oh, by the way, what's your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." He said. She turned and walked down the stairs and was met up with by a group of friends who were twittering loudly. Because of them she never heard him call out, "Wait! What's your name?" or maybe she did and didn't want to answer.

Naruto was grateful that the pretty girl told him which panel was the one with the door. It was really hard to tell if you didn't know. He waited for one of the office ladies to notice him and after explaining his situation he was handed several multicolored forms that apparently needed to be filled out and signed. He was given a locker, class schedule and several other forms that he needed to read. She told him not to go anywhere yet because there was something else that needed to be taken care of, but she needed to do something first, and she left him alone with the small mountain of paper while she made an all-call on the PA system. Naruto didn't much care, to pass time he decided to fill out some of the papers.

The first one he decided to fill out was the emergency contacts paper, which was on top. Name...age...date of birth...gender...address...Name of guardian...and so on through the papers...then he came to a question about medications. He laughed bitterly, he did have medications that he had to take, for his post traumatic stress disorder, among other things he had to take probably three to five medications depending on his levels of stress as determined by his psychiatrist, Tsunade whom he saw about once a week. This was why bills were such an issue.

The office lady came back with a rather pissed red head in tow.

"Now Naruto, all transfer students are given a 'guide' per say to help them navigate their way around our rather large campus. And due to your unique circumstances Gaara seemed the best choice for the job. This often helps develop friendships and makes socializing a bit easier in the beginning. Now class will be starting soon and Naruto will probably want to go to his locker before then, if you would be so kind Gaara?"

No matter what that woman said Gaara looked like he wasn't going to 'be so kind' at all. In fact he looked like he was going to cuss the woman out. But he said nothing and made a gesture with his head for Naruto to follow him. When they well away from the glass fronted office Gaara asked what his locker number was, when Naruto told him he nodded, "So that's what she meant when she said we'd have a lot in common." Upon seeing Naruto's nonplussed look he elaborated, "You have the great dishonor of being lowest part of the highest place in the social hierarchy. A grand total of two now that you're here." This did nothing but increase Naruto's confusion. "You're possessed by a demon aren't you?" He nodded, "But how did you know that?"

Gaara pointed to his locker number. "You're right next to my locker and we're at the far end of the locker section set aside for those with kekei genkai; mind you there aren't that many." When he started speaking again it was with a voice of utter hatred. "We the few and special just for being born with an ability no one else can duplicate can get away with almost anything with most of the teachers, as long as they like you. Just don't cross anyone else of our 'station' that can kick your ass. Fights between the 'elite' can get seriously brutal and the teachers aren't stupid enough to risk injury to stop them. Here's your locker."

Naruto nearly crashed into Gaara as he suddenly stopped in front of a set of lockers that were a bit wider and longer then the others they were passing. Naruto glanced at the paper with his locker number for the combination. When he opened the locker he found it well kept and looking like it had a new coat of paint. He dropped off the papers and the books that he wouldn't need and shut his locker, all the while aware that Gaara's eyes never stopped watching him, it was rather unnerving.

"You don't talk much do you?" Gaara asked out of the blue. At this Naruto actually laughed, "I'm usually a chatter box, but I haven't been to a real school since I was eight and it's..."

"Depressing?" Gaara suggested as Naruto struggled to find the right word.

"Nauseating more like." Naruto decided, "I hear you, this place just makes me want to vomit." This was, in a way, how it felt but Naruto imagined that being here would be nauseating for Gaara in a different way the it would be for him.

Now that he was standing and talking with the boy, Naruto began to take in his appearance. He had short slightly unrulely red hair, no visible eyebrows, and heavy black circles around his eyes that Naruto couldn't decide whither they were from lack of sleep or make up. But the kanji character of 'ai' was defiantly not something the redhead had been born with. It was a pity his eyes were shrouded behind those black rings; he had striking jade eyes behind them. He wore a long sleeved darkish blue undershirt and a black top and baggy black pants.

It suddenly occurred to him that this 'Gaara' was still talking to him. "Huh? Didn't catch that, sorry."

"I was saying; I need to see your schedule so I can show you where your homeroom is." Gaara snatched the schedule from Naruto and continued, "And I don't like repeating myself."

"Who the hell do you think you are, the god damn king or somethin'? It's not my fault that you don't have the capability to hold your audience." Naruto snapped back. Gaara raised an eyebrow, "Didn't expect that. You know, I may not hate you after all."

Naruto's first impression was to be severely offended but he started to understand that Gaara was calling him a friend in his own way. Without responding he handed Gaara his schedule, Gaara glanced down his classes and chuckled, "You have most of your classes with me." He said handing the paper back to him. Naruto took the paper back and stuffed it into a folder.

As they walked down the hall Gaara pointed out some things Naruto would need to know in the future, particularly the way to the classes he didn't have with Gaara. Within minutes they arrived at their homeroom class. Gaara walked in as if there was no one in the room. Naruto wished he could do the same with such confidence. But a quick scan of the room alleviated his baseless fears. Itachi wouldn't be in his home room anyways, as Naruto recalled he was two or three years ahead of him, they wouldn't even be on the same floor! That was, always assuming that Itachi was even there, the reasonable voice in his head told him he wasn't, the voice that still remembered the fear of that afternoon said he was even if he wasn't.

This was one of the things that stuck with him even after so long, ever since _that_ day Naruto couldn't go anywhere, not even to his own room without the fear that Itachi would be there to... to hurt him again. When he was about ten he stopped sitting against walls to prevent Itachi from coming up behind him by surprise. At age eleven he was let out of the psychiatric ward. By age twelve he started talking again. Itachi had ruined his life, it wasn't something you just get over.

Naruto put up his façade of confidence and strolled into the room after Gaara, gaara threw his bag onto a desk and motioned for Naruto to do the same in the empty desk next to him. Naruto sat down and glanced around the room with more care. Nope, defiantly not anywhere around. He turned to Gaara who was drumming his fingers impatantly on his desk while he waited for class to start with his head in his hand. On this particular hand there was a simple band of green around his index finger. The band was emblazoned with a curly "E" and Nruto found it a strange choice of a ring for Gaara.

Gaara caught him staring. He slipped the ring off and put it in Naruto's hand. "You'll need this, none of the teachers know that you're an 'elite'. You can show it off and the hall monitors will always look the other way. The upperclassmen of the elite don't need them except for the beginning of the year, 'cause the new kids don't know any better."

Naruto prayed to God that that was all that was behind Gaara giving him this ring. "You'll get one of your own soon. You should get it in blue like your eyes."

Oh yeah, Naruto had almost forgotten, God hated him. God ignored the prayers of those who harbored demons. If God loved him, he wouldn't have been raped. Naruto was feeling a little more uncomfortable with the red head, but he didn't want to be rude, so he put the ring on his right thumb. Because his thumb was the only finger it would fit.

"Damn, you're tiny. That ring fits on me ok, but it's even big on your thumb. Do you eat, ever?" Gaara remarked.

Again Naruto laughed. "I eat loads, especially ramen, it's my absolute favorite food."

Gaara smirked, "I get the feeling that you're a liar. You tell me you talk and eat a lot but the way you act contradicts what you say. You're small and skinny, and you've barely said a word unless I provoke you."

Naruto could have said something very nasty at this point but felt it wouldn't do to piss off someone who looked like he wanted to commit mass homicide. Much less the only person he knew in the room, because apparently the pretty girl from the stairwell wasn't in his homeroom. "If you felt like you were going to be sick you wouldn't open your mouth either."

Gaara laughed, "You are the only person in this school who can make me even crack a smile. I think that means you get money or something, there's this cash prize for the one who can get me to laugh I think."

It made Naruto feel good that he could make Gaara laugh when no one else could. Like he was wanted and useful.

_"You're worthless, you might as well stop fighting me. It's not like you're good for much else."_

Naruto shuddered, the urge to vomit more powerful now. He had shut away those memories a long time ago. He couldn't remember his last flashback. Why was it happening now? Was going to a real school such a bad idea?

"Hey you, move." Commanded a voice behind him. Naruto froze. This was why he had sat with his back against the wall. He did _not_ like people coming up behind him. And this voice, it was so similar; it couldn't be Itachi... Naruto had almost let his guard down and tried to enjoy himself, that was what he got for thinking he was safe.

"He has a name Uchiha, and besides you aren't anyone's boss."

Uchiha? Oh god, that was his name...Naruto was going to die this time he knew it... but Naruto wasn't going to seem like a coward. He had pride. He turned to face the speaker.

The hair was shorter then Naruto remembered, his skin was darker but still very pale. And the eyes there was no question about, this was Uchiha all right... but the wrong one, this was the younger one from the trial in the court house...

"Hey, you're 'Chicken-Shit' from the lawsuit!" Naruto exclaimed like the moron he was. The room went more silent then a tomb. Who was this new blonde boy and did he just call Uchiha Sasuke a 'chicken-shit'?

"Excuse me? We've never met." The pale boy said with a look of poorly suppressed fury on his face.

"Yeah, we have! And you're still a liar too, you were too chicken to tell the truth at my trial."

"I've never been on trial." Sasuke replied coolly, he thought this boy was a little touched in the head. Naruto wondered why the boy was being so dense, and then he remembered. He had put makeup to hide his whiskers. He quickly rubbed it off and asked, "Recognize me now?"

Sasuke said nothing. He didn't need to. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped, his face paled even more. Here was that softly crying shell of a boy whose face Sasuke saw in his recollections of guilt. He had indeed lied on the stand for his brother, not out of love but out of fear. He knew he would be out of lock up before Sasuke was old enough to get away, he had been right. His brother was back, and now Sasuke had to face the boy whose life he, in some small way, had helped ruin.

"What's this 'chicken-shit' business?"

Naruto shook his head saying flatly, "Well, I didn't remember your name!"

Several people in that class fell flat on their faces. How could he know who Sasuke was without knowing his name?

"Uchiha, you're late!" called a voice at the front of the room.

"Sorry sensei, but Brother was late driving us here." Sasuke said turning away from Naruto, who was struck cold.

_'Brother_ was late driving _us_ here' not ' brother was late driving me here' or better yet, 'My ride her was delayed.' No, Naruto's worst fears were realized in one heart stopping phrase, Itachi went to this new school of Naruto's.

Wait a second! Naruto wasn't in school. He was in hell!

_This_ was Naruto's hell.

**End the drama here!**

Who expected Naruto to react to Sasuke like that? Honestly now! And can all you nice people out there help me? Who do you want the 'Pretty girl' to be? I can't decide! Help! The girl will be the one with the most votes! And what is Gaara's motive behind giving Naruto his ring? Is there even a secret motive? He, he, he, he, he-he! You'll have to wait to find out!

This story is dedicated to my friend Kyuu-san, my beta and fellow angst lover! Hope you like it Kyuu-san!

Please click the review button, it bring's good luck! (Not proven... yet) But really, please click it!


	3. In The Mind

**Back to Hell, I Mean School  
By: Shozetsku  
Disclaimer/Warnings/Authoress Notes:**

For the disclaimer and warnings see the first chapter and the prolouge. I'm tired of writing them, so the disclaimer and the warnings will go for the rest of the fic plus any new ones I may deem necessary.

* * *

I'm going to be toying with POV's to see if I can get into the heads of the charas; please bear with me. Is cell phone one word or two? This chapter is a little humorous because I don't want this story getting too intense. I think I'll do that every so often.

* * *

THANK YOU **Momiko** and **blue-genjutsu** for giving me a great suggestion for who the pretty girl should be! A plushie of that character to you both with my appreciation! ... Now! On with the ficcie!

**Chapter 3:** In The Mind... There's Something There

Naruto's POV:

Oh, _HELL_ no.

I am _not_ going to a school with Itachi. Screw this crazy brain fart of Kyuubi Oji-san's, I'm calling to get a ride home. I value the little mental stability I've managed to accumulate during my years of intensive therapy far too much to throw it to the winds like this. As soon as class was over I ran out of class not caring that Gaara was yelling at my back that our next class was in the other direction. I rounded a corner and dialed Oji-san's job on my cell. It rang twice... com'on Ojisan, pick up...

"Hello, Uzumaki speaking." Yes! We're in business now! I can explain the whole thing and get out of here, I feel a jerk and my cell no longer is on my hand. I heard it snap shut. No... Who the hell? Why is it always, always just my luck?

I turn; there is a woman with brown hair pulled up in a clip with matching eyes holding my closed cell phone. The screen is still flashing '00:00:17' for how many seconds I was using it. She's smirking at me.

"The use of cell phones is prohibited during school hours, kid."

My mind is numb; nothing she's saying is registering with me. "Huh?" I ask stupidly.

"You not allowed to use your fucking phone in school you damn brat."

Okay, that got my mind working again. Gee, curse much? "Give it back! I need to call my uncle!"

"By school rules I get to keep this. If you ask me nicely after school I might consider giving it back before the school year ends." She tells me with a smirk on her face that clearly states that her giving it back is about as likely as penguins riding flying pigs the size of elephants and performing a five star musical in the middle of the hallway... sorry about that, I get a little erratic when I'm upset.

I've made up my mind. I hate this woman, whoever she is. Nothing I can do now, anything I say will insure I'll never see my phone again. But someone up there has taken some pity on me, Gaara rounded the corner.

"There you are Naruto, come on, you can't get away with being late for Kakashi-sensei's class no matter who you are and it's in the other direction."

"So your name is Naruto huh?" She asked without wanting an answer, I was so pissed at her I couldn't have if I wanted to. "Well Naruto, breaking the rules on our first meeting isn't the way to start out."

"I didn't know I wasn't allowed to use my cellphone, ma'am." I manage to grit through my teeth.

"Well, they weren't allowed in your old school were they?" this woman retorts, she is trying to catch me in a lie I'm not telling.

"The last real school I went to was when I was eight years old and I didn't have a cellphone to be taken away." Whatever she was expecting me to say it wasn't this. She went wide eyed but she quickly got over it.

"Well, now you know." She said lamely.

When it happened it was all over the papers, it happened in my elementary school with a teachers meeting going on down the hall. The evidence of _his_ guilt was so overwhelming that he took a deal. But Oji-san sued the school for negligence along with a bunch of other stuff for a lot of money. It was all over the papers for a while with pictures of the school, _him_, and the courtroom. But by my uncles request there were no pictures of me even though some were taken; that film was destroyed. This woman probably hadn't figured out I was the unnamed boy in the articles but she probably had some idea in her head to have made her face turn white like that.

She stepped quickly away from me. "Well, get going to class, you better not be late." She turned to walk away but stopped to call over her shoulder, "Nice whiskers."

HOLY SHIT! I left those things EXPOSED? I felt around in the pockets of my cargos to find--

Gaara's POV:

I didn't know Uchiha and Naruto were acquainted. Nor did I realize Naruto used make up to hide the fact that he had whisker marks on his cheeks. Nor do I understand why Naruto had turned the color of sour milk when Uchiha started talking to our sensei, or why the color never really came back to his face. Maybe Naruto wasn't joking when he said he was feeling sick, he sure looks it.

At the end of class Naruto was out the door before most of the class had properly stood up from their seats. I ran after him, the moron was going in the wrong direction to our next class. As Naruto turned the corner I saw a glimpse of what he had in his hand, a cellphone, was he calling to go home? He can't get too far and I needed to get back in the class to get my things.

When I found Naruto just a little ways down the hall he was face to face with Anko; aww shit, not on his first day! She was holding the cell I had seen in his hand and looking particularly smug.

"There you are Naruto," I said coming to his rescue because the poor kid looked to pissed off to speak. "Come on, you can't get away with being late for Kakashi-sensei's class no matter who you are and it's in the other direction."

"So your name is Naruto huh?" Anko said smugly, have I mentioned I hate this arrogant woman? "Well Naruto, breaking the rules on our first meeting isn't the way to start out." How the hell did she know it was his first day? I swear they have cameras or something in this damn place.

"I didn't know I wasn't allowed to use my cellphone, ma'am." ? How could he not? It's a rule on every school.

"Well, they weren't allowed in your old school were they?" for once she and I are in agreement... I vow this will never happen again. For all those who don't know yet: I hate Anko.

"The last real school I went to was when I was eight years old and I didn't have a cellphone to be taken away." What, was Naruto home-schooled? Why eight? That would put him in what? ... Third ... fourth grade? There's more to this new kid then his whiskers, and I want to know what.

"Well, now you know." Ok, now I'm confused, what happened to humble the arrogant Anko? Whatever, we need to get to class we're gonna get detention and I can't miss the city bus home...if you can call it a home...

"Well, get going to class, you better not be late. Nice whiskers." I think they're kinda cool too but I think I know a bit better then her why he has them. But what kind of demon would leave whisker markings? A cat?

At this last comment from Anko however Naruto freaked out again. He started digging in one of his many pant pockets. Damnit, we don't have time for this! I grab him by the hand and run down the hall to our next class, dragging the shorter blonde behind him.

"Hey, what are you--" he stammered from behind me.

"I'm not going to be late because of you." I say flatly. There's the door, bell please don't--

Beeeeeeeeeeepp!

--ring. Damnit! I punch the wall hard, alerting Kakashi-sensei that there are students who are late.

"Don't bother coming in, just stand in the hall 'till I get a chance to deal with you." Came the voice of that infuriatingly calm man.

I guess I'm walking home. Damnit.

"Oh, good." Breathed Naruto from beside me. He really doesn't get it, does he? Naruto began rummaging, yet again through his pockets. He pulled something out that looked like, but it couldn't be... it just _couldn't_ be...

Naruto POV:

I found my concealer!

Ok, so it's a ladies compact that my shrink gave me, but it conceals my marks so I gave it a less embarrassing name. But yes, it is still a compact.

I flip it open and lean against the, thankfully windowless, wall and examine my appearance in the mirror for a second before applying the cover up to my markings. I always feel like such a girl when I do this; but I don't like people looking at them. The lesser of two evils I suppose.

As soon as I remember that Gaara is right next to me watching my every move. I feel like banging my head against the wall. I hate my life.

"D-don't, don't get the wrong idea, Gaara. I-I-it's just for my whiskers, I-I-I'm not like--" but Gaara is laughing at me.

"You sound like Hinata-chan."

"Who?"

"I'll tell you later, and don't worry; I'll keep your secret, if..." oh god, there's an 'if', why am I not surprised?

"You'll keep mine." I look up at him, what does he mean his secret?

Gaara licked two of his fingers and brought them up to his eyes. He wiped the wet fingers over one of his eyes to reveal that Gaara was wearing eyeliner. The eyeliner hid the fact that Gaara looked like he had never slept in his life. Gaara pulled something out of his back pocket. His wallet. He flipped the back open to reveal a small mirror where his ID should have been; from a zipper Gaara produced a travel sized black eyeliner pencil. He remade his large circle around his eye and wiped away the smudges.

We came to a silent understanding; we each had a secret we hid physically with make up, like a mask. But we also each had an underlying secret that caused us to create and use our masks in the first place. Without saying anything to each other we became best friends, maybe words weren't what we needed. Maybe we just needed to know.

Normal POV:

"You better treat me to lunch if I get detention and miss my ride home." Gaara said staring at the wall opposite them.

Naruto chuckled a bit, Gaara didn't join in. "You're serious?" Naruto asked nervously. Gaara nodded. Naruto was about to say something when the door opened revealing a tall man with an untidy mop of silver hair.

"Alright, care to give me your lame excuses for being late?" he said bluntly.

"You're one to talk Kakashi-sensei, the only reason you're never late to your own classes is because you don't have to leave your classroom to get there." Gaara said acidly.

"True, but my total lack of punctuality isn't the issue here, it's yours." Kakashi said calmly. Naruto vaguely wondered what his face looked like. But this was because he wore a mask that covered everything from his nose down to his neck, and his silver hair fell into his left eye. The one visible eye turned to notice him for the first time, "And you are?"

" Uzumaki Naruto, I'm the reason Gaara's late, I'm new and I went the wrong way and some crazy lady that likes to cuss held us up. I'm sorry." Naruto apologized.

Kakashi seemed either to not hear the apology, or simply not care. "Cuss? Must be Anko then."

"She's the one that made us late sensei, but it's my fault in the first place."

"You say you're new right? Great, now I have to interrupt my class to introduce you." Kakashi said offhandedly, still not entirely listening to Naruto.

Naruto shot an agitated look at Gaara as if to ask, 'Is he like this all the time?' Gaara nodded. Naruto sighed exasperatedly; this seemed to catch Kakashi's full attention.

"Well, what are you standing around for? I gotta disrupt my class now, get in."

"Are we getting detention for being late?" Gaara asked. Kakashi shook his head, "Nah, you've gotta show the newbie the ropes, you're excused for now, just don't get used to it."

Naruto wasn't sure if he liked being referred to as a newbie, but said nothing. They were ushered into the classroom. The first thing that Naruto noticed as Gaara walked past him to his seat was that the pretty girl from the stairwell was in this class, not only that but she was the only one with an empty seat next to her. (please note that this classroom is made up of two person tables, not individual desks)

As Kakashi was making Naruto's introduction, which Naruto didn't listen to in the slightest, his eyes roamed around the room, Sasuke, Gaara, and the pretty girl were the only people he recognized. Then Naruto realized that Kakashi was telling him where to sit.

"-ruto, the only seat left is next to Haku, so that'll be your seat for the year and your partner for the group projects in this class."

The pretty girl's name was Haku, wow, and Naruto would be sitting next to her for the rest of the school year. Maybe school wouldn't be all that bad after all.

Health class, (Kakashi's class) was over far too soon for Naruto's liking, he wasn't sure if the very pretty Haku found him funny or a hindrance but all the same answered every question Naruto had. Naruto was sure he was in love.

**-Boy, is he going to get a shock! I can't wait to write it!-**

Naruto didn't pay the slightest bit of attention in his next class and as he was following Gaara out into the hallway asked him, "Hey Gaara, what class was that just now?"

Gaara stared openly at him, Naruto had participated in class, he had finished his work even before Gaara had, and even helped Gaara answer some of the questions. Now he was asking what class they had just had? This new kid made no sense at all. But temporarily putting this aside Gaara answered his question.

"Psychology."

Naruto looked confusedly at Gaara, "What? Psychology? Why am I taking psychology? I don't need to take that stuff I--" Naruto had a sudden revelation and changed what he was going to say in mid sentence. "am going to KILL her!"

Gaara looked at the blonde with something akin to amusement. _Weird or not, he's still pretty cool even if he has random thoughts about murder._ Gaara thought to himself, Confirmed, I may actually get along with this kid.

"What class do we have next Gaara?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"Morning break." Gaara answered silently wondering if he ever even glanced at his schedule.

"Do you have a cellphone?"

"Yes." Gaara said hesitantly.

"Can I use it?"

"Not if you're going to get it confiscated like you did yours."

"I won't. Where can we go that I can make a call?"

"The roof but-" Naruto cut him off.

"Where's that?"

"What is this, twenty questions?" Gaara asked frowning.

"Gaara!" Naruto said with a note of urgency in his voice.

"Down the hall and all the way up the stairs but-"

"Thanks!" Naruto took off down the hall.

"Wait! Who're you calling?" Gaara called running after him.

"An old hag!" Naruto shouted over his shoulder.

Gaara just didn't get this new boy at all. (Can you guess who his psychiatrist is?)

Before he had even burst through the door he was finished dialing the number. Panting slightly he waited for the secretary to pick up.

"You have reached-"

"Shizune! Let me talk to that old hag of a shrink right now!"

"Uzumaki-kun! I suppose you realized you're taking psychology, huh?"

"Just put her on!"

"Dr. Tsunade speaking."

"You decaying, senile old bat!" Naruto shouted into the mouthpiece.

"Decaying!" Came an angry voice on the other line, which Gaara could hear from a few feet away. Gaara winced, this woman, for it sounded like a woman on the other line, was so loud Gaara was worried that she might bust his speaker. "Who's senile? You better watch your mouth you little brat. I don't have to care about you, you know."

"Who asked you to care? You're my shrink, and since when do you have a say in what my curriculum is, huh?" Gaara neither knew nor cared what was going on, he just wanted his cellphone back.

"I don't. I merely suggested that you take psychology to your uncle."

"Liar! You probably shoved the idea down his throat!" Naruto shouted into the mouthpiece. Gaara was really regretting lending Naruto his phone now, he was so worried that he would break it. The door to the roof opened behind Gaara, but he didn't bother to look to see who it was.

But Naruto turned.

And Naruto saw.

Face to face, for the first time since the trial.

Itachi Uchiha was standing behind Gaara with a look of disdain on his face.

"Hey! You! Stop shouting! Some of us are actually studying! So be considerate of you superiors!"

Naruto dropped the phone. His face was utterly devoid of color. His whole self refused to function; his mind stopped working, he stopped breathing, and his heart may have even stopped beating.

Once again it was Gaara who came to the rescue. "Sempai! Can't you wait a week or something? Pickin' on a new kid is low even for you!"

"Low even for me? Now how would you know anything about that, Kouhai?" Itachi smirked evilly. For Naruto it wasn't his first time seeing that look, the memories were jumbling around just under the surface there was a barrier as thin and as weak as wet paper keeping them from utterly over whelming him. Itachi turned back to Naruto.

"You seem somewhat familiar, that bothers me. I remember a face like yours. I know who you remind me of... well, maybe you'll share his fate, would you like that?" If possible Naruto's face went even paler.

"Sempai! If you're going to talk in riddle do it to someone else. We're sorry if we disturbed you." Gaara bowed and walked over to grab his phone and Naruto by the arm and drag him down the stairs.

"Damn that Uchiha-sempai! He's so creepy don't you think Na...ruto?" Gaara stopped talking. Naruto's face was completely expressionless, he stared straight ahead and said nothing.

"Hello? Hello? Naruto did you drop the phone?" Gaara realized that his cellphone had not disconnected. Didn't Naruto say that this woman was his shrink?

"H-hello?" Gaara said pulling Naruto into a storage room to not get caught on the phone. He winced, he hated it when he stuttered.

"Who's this?"

"My name's Gaara, there's something wrong with Naruto."

"Put him on."

"I don't think that's possible. He's like he's not there."

"What the hell happened? The brat was fine and yelling at me a minute ago!"

"We ran into an upperclassman."

"Who was it?"

"Does it matter?"

"Just answer me!"

"H-his name's Uchiha Itachi!"

Naruto flinched visibly.

"Naruto? Naruto!" Gaara called out, "Naruto can you hear me?"

"Must you shout?"

Naruto's POV:

I'm running.

But then again I knew that. I've always been running. Running away from something terrible that happened. Someone terrible.

_Red eyes that completely freeze you up, you can't move, shout, or even look away. Such scary red eyes; they're eyes from hell._

It's behind me, the memories; they're catching up to me. I just can't let them catch me; I just have to keep running. I don't know how long I've been running but it feels like forever. I shut my eyes to block out the noises I hear. But with my eyes closed I can't see where I'm running.

Pain. I've hit something in my path and I can't go on any farther. But what is it that I've run into?

A cage?

Something shoots out from between the bars, something massive. It blocks the memories from coming closer. Whatever's in there I'm grateful to it.

**You don't remember me? Typical. Typical Naruto right there for all to see.**

Who are you? What are you? How long have you been here?

**I have no name, but I am a Kyuubi.**

Kyuubi? Like my uncle?

**If it means anything he got the name from me.**

But how long have you been here?

**Since your birth. Haven't you ever wondered why you never get sick? Or why your injuries heal faster then everyone else's?**

Because of you?

**Precisely.**

You're the one who sealed away my memories for me! The friendly shadow from those dreams! The one with lots of tails! The nine tailed fox form Oji-san's stories!

**So you do remember something. What has scared you so much that you've come running to my cage yet again?**

Again?

**You've done so before.**

He's back. I saw him. He thinks I'm someone else 'cause I hide my marks now. He said 'you remind me of someone, maybe you'll share his fate.' I can't face that again. I'll break this time I know I will.

**He? Uchiha Itachi?**

Something hits me in the back. Some of the memories had gotten around the Kyuubi's tail. I clutch my head in agony and cry and scream. More tails shot between the bars, two to fend off the memories, one to cradle me in it's soft fur, and the last shot off beyond where I can see.

**Maybe I should handle things for a little while. You rest, kit.**

I remember... you used to call me that.

**Yes, I still do.**

I know nothing more, in the soft fur of the Kyuubi's tail, I fall into the bliss of peaceful sleep.

Normal POV:

"Naruto can you hear me?" Gaara shouted.

"Must you shout?" Naruto snapped, suddenly fine.

"Wha? Naruto?"

"Who do I look like? Is Tsunade on that?" Naruto asked pointing to the phone.

"Y-yes."

"Tsunade-san?"

"Get over here right now! Do you hear me? I don't care if you're still in school! If you're not in my office in twenty minutes there's going to be hell to pay!"

"Will you charge for this surprise session?"

"Get over here!"

"You do know I don't know how to get there right?"

"You have thirty minutes then."

"What's the address?"

Naruto wrote it down on a little pad of paper from one of his pants pockets.

"Alright."

"Remember, thirty minutes!"

There was a loud muffled sound from outside the door, Kyuubi them realized that Naruto was standing in a closet with another boy. With the kanji for 'love' on his forehead... the Kyuubi didn't know much about humans but it knew that that wasn't normal.

"That's the bell. We better get going." Gaara said without caring.

"Well, I've got to get to Tsunade-san's office." The Fox demon said flatly. He held up the paper that had the address on it. "Do you know how to get to this address from here?"

Gaara took the paper from Naruto. He smirked, "I've been looking for an excuse to cut school."

"You need an excuse?"

"Sometimes, or else it keeps me up at night." Gaara smiled bitterly.

The Kyuubi didn't really know how to take this statement. Dry humor wasn't something you just understand overnight. It was hard enough trying to understand regular humor.

Gaara showed, who he thought was Naruto a way to sneak out of the school. They were out onto the main road and Gaara was the only one of the two who had any idea where they were going.

"We should go up the road a bit and take the subway." Gaara took off down the street and the Kyuubi followed, trying not to betray the fact that it was completely overwhelmed by it's surroundings. They rode the subway for a few stops, and had to walk the rest of the way to a rather large office building. Gaara and the kyuubi checked the directory to figure out which floor Tsunade's office was.

"But don't you know already Naruto?" Gaara asked, confused.

"This isn't the place where she and I normally talk." This was true enough, the last time the Kyuubi and the doctor had had their last discussion was years ago in an institute for the mentally unstable. The Kyuubi hated that place because it smelled of an unnaturally awful clean that it found out was bleach.

They rode the elevator up and exited to see a rather unimpressive room with a receptionist on the phone with what sounded like her boyfriend. But the Kyuubi knew which secretary was Tsunade's by sight and this wasn't their girl. They followed a hallway in the opposite direction, turned a corner, and there she was.

"Uzumaki-kun!" the secretary said happily, "And with time to spare! Tsunade-san will be impressed!"

"Shizune-san." The Kyuubi said with a little bow. The girl seemed to lose some of her enthusiasm.

"Go right in." Naruto stepped towards the door and Gaara silently followed behind him.

The two teens stepped through the door behind the desk into a large office. "Come on in." said the Blond woman in the chair behind the desk. "Oh, and I've phoned Uzumaki-san about the whole thing so when you want you can get a ride home."

"I'm not sure if that's good news." The Kyuubi said scratching his head in thought.

"Well, lets have the damage report."

"Well, first off Naruto is sleeping off his shock." The Kyuubi said in an apologetic tone. "I'm back."

Tsunade sighed heavily. "Not to be rude or anything but I had hoped we'd never speak to each other again."

"Oh, no offence taken, I'm a little insulted that I can't even handle the meager job you gave me."

"So Naruto really saw him again?"

"Yes, and his suppressed memories are pushing themselves onto him. I was having a relatively nice reprieve and the whole mess starts up again. Why is he going to a real school again anyways? I thought I made it plain that it could break him if he went back. I don't understand humans, I couldn't pose as him in the real world even if I wanted to."

"For a demon you always have been awfully humble and generous."

"Well, there's a story behind that; one that you already know. That, and we have an unwanted listener." The Kyuubi said turning around to look at Gaara, smiling. "I'm sorry I don't know your name."

It was Naruto's face, Naruto's voice, and Naruto's eyes, but nothing about that ice-cold look was in any way Naruto. The Kyuubi, the nine-tailed fox. That was the demon that possessed Naruto.

"You must be 'Gaara'-kun from the phone call. Didn't anyone ever teach you that eavesdropping was bad?"

Gaara was speechless. Tsunade stood from her chair.

"I hope you realize just how much trouble you're in, kid." She said.

**End the drama here!**

I would have written more but I just got writer's block, but I really wanted to break 5000 words but alas, it was not to be. Did I screw up the Itachi encounter? Yes I know, the ages are fucked up but I needed Itachi in the same school, and the Kyuubi is SOO OOC that it's almost bad but I have a reason for that too. As always this fic is dedicated to Kyuu-san my very valued and cool beta and fellow angst lover.

Suggestions for what to happen next will be worth more then gold to me! Reviews will be held with the same regard! You all seem to love this fic so please keep reviewing me!

Tell me if you flashbacks of Naruto's past, the day he was born and the day he was raped, or do you want to know what will happen to Gaara, personally, I wanted to save the flashbacks for later but I don't know where to put them in yet.

-Novelist


	4. Demons, flashbacks, and Itachi, OH MY!

**Back to Hell, I Mean School  
By: Shozetsku  
Authoress Notes:**

Thank you all my most highly valued and honored readers and reviewers! You love my fic and I cry in appreciation! T-T Angst is back with a vengeance, but I was a little worried about how you would take the humor I threw in there.

BTW: for all those who didn't know what it meant **kouhai** means underclassmen; I got it from pg 118 book 2 of Juvenile Orion by Sakurano Gokurakuin. I love this Manga! I have the whole series! Since I got it from a published manga instead of a fansite I'm pretty confident in the definition. But I don't have anything against fansite translators!

To: **Zafiro Okami **you wanted a description of the uncle and here it is.

**Chapter 4:** Demons, flashbacks, and Itachi, OH MY!

Gaara didn't move, he didn't know what to do, this blonde 'Tsunade' woman looked ready to kill Gaara. Her very being radiated anger. Gaara honestly didn't know how to react.

"When a patient sees a psychiatrist they come under the assumption that everything they say will remain confidential unless it seems like they are going to hurt themselves or others. That confidence is sometimes the only reason that a patient will speak to a psychiatrist in the first place." Tsunade told Gaara looking him dead in the eye. "You have just broken that confidentiality. I can't stress enough what you have done. You could face legal consequences. I hope what you overheard was worth it."

"That isn't Naruto?" Gaara said pointing to the boy sitting in the chair that was glaring at him as though Gaara had done something unforgivable. "That's the demon?"

"You know about them?" Tsunade asked her eyes widening. "Did Naruto tell him?"

"I don't know, I doubt it though. He would have only met the kid today." The Kyuubi said shrugging. "I've been sleeping mostly, and I don't look into Naruto's memories much, it's just not my business. The only explanation is that he has a demon too."

"I do."

The Kyuubi sniffed the air and Naruto's eyes flashed a dangerous red. "Shukaku."

Gaara flinched, how did he know the name of the demon within him? How did he know the reason that Gaara had never known what it was like to really sleep?

"You're acquainted?" Tsunade asked looking at Gaara with curiosity mingled with rage.

"If by that you mean, 'We battled each other and I thought I had killed the eyesore' then yes, we are very acquainted." The Kyuubi said coldly.

Gaara stared, there was the blonde hair, the tanned skin, the blue eyes, but it wasn't whom it looked like. It infuriated Gaara. That demon had control over Naruto. It had no right to take over Naruto's body. Why was someone else sharing in his pain of having to house a demon within his body? Why this boy who, in such a short time, was the closest friend Gaara had ever had? It was all so frustrating.

"Get out of Naruto! How dare you use his body! I know what it's like to have a demon inside you! Do you only let Naruto sleep at night when you exploit his body for your own desires? You make me sick! I hate you and your kind!"

The Kyuubi stood up and strode across the room. Before Gaara knew what happened he had been punched in the jaw by a mean right hook, lights burst in front of his eyes as pain shot through his mouth. The Kyuubi tossed a handkerchief at Gaara, "Don't get blood all over Tsunade-san's office. And don't assume about things that you know nothing about, or I just might think about actually toying with you."

"T-T-toying?" Gaara spluttered. But the Kyuubi didn't hear him. Naruto flinched; he clutched his head, and started panting.

"He's having relapses. I can't control it, he's having nightmares like the days right after it happened."

"You, leave. I should have kicked you out ages ago." Tsunade said sternly. Gaara, gently nursing his bleeding lip and throbbing chin that was steadily swelling turned to go without complaint.

"No." The Kyuubi said holding out a shaking arm to stop him. "I want him to understand that I am nothing like Shukaku."

"This isn't in the best interest of Naruto. You're doing this because of foolish pride." Tsunade said hotly.

"I don't care! I've been selfless for more then one and a half decades! When is it in my best interest? _Why did all this have to happen to me_?" The Kyuubi stopped. "Damn this kid, he needs to control his emotions, if he keeps slinging them around with no control he'll be hurt just from the backlash." Just then the double doors burst open with the slightly distressed voice of Shizune in the background saying, "Wait! Uzumaki-san! You can't go in there yet! Tsunade-san is holding a session with Uzumaki-kun!"

There silhouetted in the doorway was an older version of Naruto. But this version was slightly different. His hair was a dirty blonde instead of yellow blonde, his eyes were of a greenish hazel and he had his hair loosely tied into a low ponytail that barely touched his blue T-shirt. He was tall and he had the look of a man that could not be surprised. But this wasn't in a bad way; in fact it made you feel like you could tell him anything and he'd laugh and say 'Been there, done that. Wanna see the scar?' Gaara found that if his mind weren't so centered on pain he would have possibly not hated this man either.

"Naruto! Did you call me at work? Are you ok? What happened?"

"**U-ZU-MA-KI-SAN**! Please escort this young man _out_ of my office and attend to his injury. Naruto is currently unattainable right now and I still must speak with your namesake, you and I _will_ talk when I am done. Now OUT!" Tsunade shouted, barely managing to hold on to some visage of self-restraint.

Kyuubi jumped and paled at the death look on the blonde woman's face. He smiled sheepishly and gently pushed Gaara out of the office and shut the doors behind him. Leaning heavily against the doors he let out a deep breath and chuckled meekly at Shizune who looked just as shaken by Tsunade's outburst.

"You want a drink?" he asked her, "I want a coffee so I'll get you somthin'. And while I'm in the kitchen I'll pick up some stuff for that lump on your face, kid." This last part he directed at Gaara, who was beyond caring anymore and nodded. Kyuubi laughed and scratched behind his head, "I hate it when she's mad like that, she looks ready to kill."

And without another word he strode casually down the hallway, assumingly to the kitchen. He was only gone for a few minutes and sure enough he returned with a sprite, a coffee, and a first aid kit. He placed the sprite can on Shizune's desk, gulped down the steaming coffee, and gestured for Gaara to sit in a chair near the coffee table.

Gaara watched as this man threw his crumpled, empty, coffee cup into the trash, sit down in the chair next to him and blithely open the first aid kit and start rummaging around. He then turned to Gaara and examined the wound. He gently drew Gaara's hands away from his face, the Kyuubi had punched him so hard he had cut his lip on his own teeth. It was split right at the juncture and hurt like crazy. He told Gaara to spit out the blood in his mouth on the handkerchief and to not hit him if he accidentally caused him unnecessary pain. Gaara complied, further staining what was once probably a really nice handkerchief with his blood and spit.

Kyuubi dabbed some sterilizing fluid on it that made Gaara hiss in pain. He put an antibiotic and a liquid bandage that would apparently form a seal and would be better then a bulky regular bandage. Again he rummaged around through the first aid kit and found a cooling pack that he told Gaara to put on his cheek to stop the swelling. Again Gaara complied without a word.

"I hope you got that in defense of my nephew." He said casually.

"No sir. I got it from your nephew I think." Gaara said, finally speaking. He could have sworn that this man had been Naruto's father.

"So you do talk! I was getting worried that you didn't talk at all or something!" Kyuubi laughed, Gaara decided it was a nice laugh, he wondered if Naruto laughed like that, or if he laughed at all. "But what do you mean you _think_ you got it from Naruto? Either you did or you didn't."

"I got it from that filthy demon who was _using_ Naruto's body, it still is." Gaara's words could not have portrayed more hatred.

"That 'filthy demon' is the only reason Naruto is still alive." Kyuubi said flatly. Gaara started at this.

"What? How? Why?" Gaara stammered without being able to help himself.

"So you wanna hear the story? Then tell me what you said to piss off the Kyuubi that bad, mind you the Kyuubi is the most levelheaded being I know, so this better be good." Gaara flinched as though he was scolding him.

"I yelled at it. I made... some nasty accusations. I told it 'I hate you and your kind' I was so mad... I didn't know... how could I?"

"You had prejudices; it's stupid, but there you are. You had no way of knowing, and the Kyuubi lost it's composure at you. Out of curiosity, why do you have those prejudices?"

"I have a demon inside me, and it's horrible to me, it wants to take me over and use my body for whatever it likes. I can't go to sleep because I'm so scared that it'll get me. I don't remember the last time I slept."

"Huh. I guess you get good ones and bad ones in everything. You show that thing, you show it that humans are more then what they're cracked up to be." The man laughed again, "Damn, I'm rude. I haven't even introduced myself yet have I? The name's Uzumaki Kyuubi, I'm Naruto's uncle."

"Are strange names a tradition in the Uzumaki family?" Gaara asked. 'Kyuubi' laughed again. "Nope! Just us oddballs! But what's your name?"

"Sorry, it's Gaara."

"Gaara? Gaara what?"

"Just Gaara. I don't really have a family. I got disowned or something, I live in an orphanage and I'm all too glad to leave my family name behind me. I hate them!" Gaara surprised even himself, he wasn't ever this open with anyone; there was something disarming about this man. It was almost dangerous.

"I gave up my name and traded it for a new one. You threw your name away. I guess I can have some understanding of where you come from but then I would be assuming too much. But that story and the story you wanted to hear earlier are the same thing. The day that Naruto was born, you want to hear how Naruto was born with a demon inside him."

Gaara stared at this man that looked so much like Naruto, and listened intently, waiting for him to start talking.

"Well, Otouto-kun wanted to have Naruto born out in the open, in the fresh air away from all the pollutants of the city. So he dragged his wife out to a mountain cottage and dragged me along because I've had the training and could theoretically help birth a baby. Crazy asshole. The scenery was nice and it seemed to do Naruto's mother some good. Well she went into labor in a day or two after we arrived. He completely freaked out so I told him to walk around the cottage once or twice and enjoy the breeze. I told him, _I told him_ not to go into the forest but he wasn't ever good at listening, especially to me."

He stopped, "he never listened. Ever. If only just that once he had just listened to me. ... but you can't rewrite the past. Anyways he did go for a walk in the woods and-"

One of the double doors opened again. Tsunade was leading Naruto (the Kyuubi) out of her office. He sat down quietly in one of the chairs as his uncle passed by him to talk to Tsunade in hushed voices. Gaara, whom had learned his lesson on eavesdropping turned away and readjusted he cooling pack on his face. The Kyuubi looked at him sheepishly, "I didn't mean to hit you that hard." It said.

Gaara shook his head to wave off the apology. "I was pissed off, I had no idea, you were right. And I still don't know anything at all."

The Kyuubi ran a hand threw Naruto's hair, sighing. "When Naruto comes off at the losing end of a fight his uncle takes him out for ice cream... I like strawberry flavor myself."

"Ice cream?" Gaara said chuckling, "You really don't know anything about humans. How's that supposed to help? But sure, I could go for some."

* * *

Naruto had calmed down; the nightmares were over and he was resting peacefully in the tail of the Kyuubi. But he felt that he'd slept enough and wasn't even tired anymore. He started to roll over not yet ready to face the world yet. He got into a comfortable position and began to dream of ice cream.

Mmm... Ice cream...

* * *

Gaara sat in the back seat of the car while Naruto's uncle drove them to an ice cream parlor. Even with the radio playing there was an uncomfortable silence that just would not go away. At the parlor Gaara ordered a mint chocolate shake, he sat down with his shake as soon as the lady behind the counter handed it over. He broke off the bit of Mint chocolate that was sticking out for decoration and bit it. Naruto and his uncle sat down not a minute afterward, His uncle had ordered a medium cookie dough ice cream cone with chocolate sprinkles, Naruto had gotten-

"That's not strawberry." Gaara said surprised.

Naruto looked at him, "Of course it's not. Strawberry is so plain, I like Butter pecan with crushed Snickers bits on it." Naruto took a big spoonful of ice cream and was about to stick it in his mouth when he thought out loud, "You know, I was dreaming of ice cream and now I have some, weird. And when did we get out of school? And why aren't you at work Oji-san?"

"I took pity on you and checked you out of school." His uncle lied casually.

"Why are you here and what happened to your face Gaara?" Naruto asked noticing Gaara and his injuries for the first time.

"Got in a fight and I'm cutting class. I'm not about to turn down free ice cream." Gaara was technically telling most of the truth but he wondered, didn't Naruto do the same thing after Psychology? All of a sudden start asking questions as if he hadn't been there at all, Gaara didn't know what to think.

"I bet it was with that Uchiha-sempai. I hate him so much." Kyuubi missed his mouth and put vanilla ice cream and cookie dough bits all over his chin.

"I love the new look Oji-san! Very you!" Naruto said happily. But his uncle didn't react; he just stared at Naruto, "Oji-san? You're dripping all over yourself."

This seemed to snap him out of it. He wiped himself off with a napkin and asked, "You remember? Meeting him I mean."

"I dunno, it might have just been a nightmare but it doesn't bother me as much as it should, it's like it only happened a long time ago or a dream or a movie I saw." While this was very shocking to listen to Naruto seemed unperturbed.

"Maybe you're getting better." His uncle said bracingly.

"No way, in the dream thing I ran away to the fox shadow and it had to protect me again. I'm no better."

Gaara only sipped his shake in silence; he felt so in the way, like he was listening in on another private conversation. Out of habit more then anything he checked his watch. He sighed.

"Only a few more hours till the bus I need shows up at the only station I know it shows up at. Thanks for the shake Uzumaki-san." Gaara stood up to go wait for his bus, grabbing his shake. He didn't want to hear anymore of what Naruto and his uncle had to talk about. But he also didn't want to go back to the orphanage either. But where else did he have to go?

"Do you have to go? You can hang at our house. I can take you home when you need to. C'mon, I don't think anyone actually likes to sit and wait hours for a stinking bus." Naruto said catching Gaara's jacket to stop him leaving. Gaara looked from Naruto to his uncle, the man shrugged casually.

"I don't care. I hope you like Italian 'cause that's what we're makin'." He said taking another bit of his cone. Gaara cracked a smile, these two seemed to make it so easy to smile, it was so surreal.

"Will you teach me how to make tiramisu?" Naruto asked, but his uncle laughed, "I wouldn't subject your friend to the potentially dangerous product of your first attempts at any dish, you might poison him."

"But it's tiramisu! The worst that'll happen will be he'll get drunk." Naruto argued.

"I don't mind that!" Gaara said, piping up.

"Silence minor! No alcohol for you!" Naruto's uncle commanded in a comical voice, they all laughed. Gaara noted that Naruto's laugh was different from his uncle's, but it was still nice.

* * *

Sasuke walked in the door and slipped off his shoes as quietly as possible. With any luck his brother was out and he could grab something to eat and lock himself in his room. In the kitchen he rummaged around for something for dinner later, two glass jars knocked together and he winced at the ensuing clank. He prayed that his brother didn't hear that, that he was far away doing something criminal and would get locked up again.

"Why little brother, I never even heard you come in the front door. How was your day at school?" Itachi asked Sasuke's back. The older boy got sadistic pleasure at the involuntary jolt that said he'd startled his kid brother.

"Fine." Sasuke snapped not turning around.

"Oh, don't be like that." Itachi said with mocking concern and affection, "It crushes me that we don't talk like we used to."

"Being in a juvenile detention center and raping an old classmate of mine does those things." Sasuke shot back, refusing to play along with Itachi's sick game.

"Oh, don't be like that little brother, just because Mom and Dad died-" Sasuke couldn't stand quiet for that remark.

"You mean you killed them." He seethed, facing the monster who was somehow his legal guardian.

"That was never proven and you shouldn't spread nasty rumors like that, people may come to believe you." Itachi said in a harder tone, dropping the playacting some.

"Why do you torment me? Why can't you be a little normal and make friends or do drugs or hang with people your own age? What happened to that blue guy...Ki-Kisa...Kisame?"

Itachi's eyebrows rose to hide in his bangs, "You don't know? Didn't you read about the kid who committed suicide?" he paused to see Sasuke's look of recognition, "Well, he didn't commit suicide, he was just a parting gift for that place; you know, kind of like a remember me by."

Sasuke felt sick to his stomach as he watched his brother laugh mercilessly about that boy's death, which he caused. Grabbing something randomly from the still open fridge he shut it and ran up the stairs into his room. He locked the door, turning the key and hanging it on the hook on the other side of his closet door with his other keys..

This custom made lock could not be opened or picked open from the other side; it was what kept Sasuke sane some nights and safe others. Picking through the keys he found the one he wanted.

He went to his nightstand and brought out the locked metal box where he kept his journal and a notepad, the notepad had a fairly long list on it. This list was a list of all the horrible things his brother had done, or at least all the things he was aware of. Not the least of these entries there was one dating back about eight years ago, where his brother had raped his classmate. There were others, many others including lesser ones of underage drinking, and more severe ones of assault and battery of a fifteen year old with a baseball bat behind a sporting goods store. Sasuke flipped through the pages and added one more, Sept 14th, admitted to murdering roommate from detention center; crime passed off as a suicide. He flipped the notebook closed again, sighing. This was all he could do. He wasn't strong enough to do anything against his brother beyond keeping a record of all he did, his silent defiance.

He was so pathetic.

He thought back to the new boy in his homeroom, he remembered his face but he'd forgotten his name. But that boy was back and Itachi was sure to find out. One of the things that he bragged to Sasuke the most was how he broke the spirit of that kid. At the trial he couldn't have been more right, but now he seemed almost completely fine, if a little pale. If Itachi found out there would be a repeat of events, or worse.

Sasuke had to do everything he could to stop his brother. He was sick of just writing things down. This time it would be different.

**End the drama here!**

This seems like a good cut off point. Not really a cliffy but it makes you wonder what happens next. I'm going to start to bring in more characters in the next chapter and this time Naruto is going to stay in school for the whole day.

As always this fic is dedicated to my awesome and most highly valued beta and fellow angst lover Kyuubi-san.

**Otouto-kun**- I'm pretty sure that this means little brother.

If you guys have any questions or see any mistakes please tell me! As always review and I will write faster! Reviews spur me to update for my adoring readers!


	5. No Getting Out Of It: The Plot Thickens

**Back to Hell, I Mean School  
By: Shozetsku  
Authoress Notes:**

Thank you all my most highly valued and honored readers and reviewers! You love my fic and I cry in appreciation of you! T-T Naruto must now go to school and stay there. How can he even try to concentrate on his schoolwork when he knows that Itachi is really there? Can Gaara help Naruto at all? And what does Sasuke want with Naruto? You'll just have to find out by reading now won't you?

To: **Sylph **thank you for your critique. I appreciate any constructive criticisms anyone can give me to improve my writings. But really, I'm a total flake without my spell check; it's so good to me! ...these ficcies are all thanks to wonderful spell check.

**Chapter 5:** No Getting Out Of It; The Plot Thickens

"Oji-san. Now that we know that Itachi is at my new school can I go back to having a tutor?" Naruto asked between bites of pasta.

It was dinnertime. Naruto had convinced Gaara to stay for dinner regardless of poisonous tiramisu. As it turned out Naruto's uncle was a very good cook, but Gaara worried about the time, constantly checking his watch or the clock hanging from the wall. It was getting too close to curfew...

"Where will we get the money? I'm not going to get any pay raises if I keep dashing out of the office to every call you make." Was the timely retort. Naruto considered this.

"You can't use your cellphone during school anyways." he said calmly putting some more salad in his bowl.

"That's not my point Naruto and you know it." His uncle said seriously but Naruto ignored his tone.

"And besides, I freaked out." Naruto said, "and if you'd just let me go back to having a tutor again we wouldn't have to plan our monthly budget for a sudden increase in my medications."

"Your medications I can handle with the health insurance I get from my company. Your tutor is much more expensive then two or three prescriptions a month." His uncle said taking a sip of soda.

"At one point I had to take about six." Naruto reminded him.

"That was immediately afterwards and your being unreasonable." His voice sounded as though he was loosing his patience. "Unless you want to tell me your going to give up before you even spend a week there this discussion is closed indefinitely."

Naruto hung his head; his uncle did not tolerate quitters. Gaara began to feel uneasy and checked his watch again. He sighed. Even if he could get there in three minutes, which wasn't possible, he would still not get there in time to make curfew. His life sucked.

"What's wrong Gaara?" Naruto asked curiously, Gaara sighed again. "It's almost curfew. Unless I can snap my fingers and be there in a second I'm going to get locked out."

"What kind of depraved parents would do that to their kid?" Naruto asked thunderstruck.

"I'm disowned. I stay at an orphanage now." Naruto noted that Gaara didn't say 'live' he said 'stay' meaning he didn't feel as though he had a home. It made him uncomfortable. But nonetheless he dragged Gaara on his feet and studied how tall he was.

"What are you doing?" asked a confused Gaara.

"Seeing if we're about the same height." Naruto said simply.

"Why?" Gaara asked, not understanding.

"To see if you could wear my pajamas." Naruto answered.

"What for?"

"Well, where else can you go? Elm Street?" Naruto said as though Gaara were a little obtuse.

"Actually I prefer the corner of Fifth and Maple, it's lit a bit better." Gaara said jokingly. Neither Uzumaki laughed. Gaara sighed.

"Sorry, the guest room might smell metallic. We do our ironing in there." Kyuubi said scratching his head and getting up from the table too. He and Naruto cleared the table and began to clean some of the dishes, leaving the bigger and/or dirtier things to soak overnight.

Naruto hurried into his room and came back with white and blue striped pants and a black T-shirt that read "When I can't sleep at night I count the buckles on my straight jacket" it looked almost brand new. Gaara laughed at the shirt's phrase and said it fit him perfectly. Naruto told him that he could keep the shirt. Naruto took him to search through some of his other clothes to find something he could wear the next morning. Gaara chose to borrow a pair of jeans and a plain dark gray undershirt with long sleeves. He wanted to wear the shirt Naruto had given him to school and would sleep in his undershirt instead.

Naruto shrugged not thinking much of this and pulled his own shirt off to put on his own pajamas. Gaara couldn't help himself; he watched Naruto undress. The blonde was skinny with a very slight muscle build. He was also very pale, like he spent many months without seeing the sun. Every now and again there were odd scars on Naruto's body. Gaara found this unnerving. He knew from experience that a demon could heal any wound you receive unless you didn't allow them to fully heal. He had his own scars such as these.

Gaara changed quickly and headed to the guest room and found that it did indeed smell metallic. And in the far right corner stood the folded up ironing board. The guest room was about as plain as Naruto's room. In fact there were very few differences, Naruto's room just so happened to look lived in because it was slightly messy. But he had no posters hanging, no pictures on the walls or on the dresser, the sheets were plain solid colors and there was a clock radio and a comb on the dresser next to a hanging mirror.

It was eerie, because even Gaara had one or two posters of his favorite hard rock band as well as a picture of his brother and sister. He even had some old novels and other books he liked to read when the long semi-quiet hours in his room got unbearable. He had his CD's and his CD player next to his boom box on his own dresser and his laptop sat charging on his nightstand. Yet Gaara's bleak room looked more welcoming than Naruto's room.

However, Naruto didn't seem to be effected in the slightest at the unadorned space, he had never thought about it. They played video games, loudly cursing when they would die within the game, until Naruto's uncle came out half yelling something about not getting out of school just because Naruto wouldn't get up in the morning. As he ranted his yellings became more incoherent. Gaara caught something about 'going to school naked', and 'stop being a chicken shit' or something of the sort. Naruto later told him that his uncle would often tirade like that when dead tired, drunk, or both.

They went to bed somewhere after eleven but before twelve. Gaara sat in the guest room for the long hours of the night mostly wishing for some of the familiar things of his room. His CD's for one, the silence was almost enough to drive him out of his mind. Or one of his longer books to pass the time. But he stopped after a while out of guilt at being ungrateful that Naruto and his uncle had taken him in for the night, and what was more, had treated him to ice cream and dinner.

It was about 2:45 AM when he rolled up the long sleeves of his undershirt to reveal his scars. His white arms were almost completely covered in self-infected scars. He had no instrument to create anymore however. He wasn't stupid enough to be caught with a razor at school or at the orphan home. However at the 'hiding spot' in the warehouse district he had all he needed. Bandages, blades, a bottle of rubbing alcohol just incase some other cutter found his cache, bleach to hide the bloodstains, and the spare charger for his cellphone in case his blade slipped too deep. He ran a hand over his own scars that he would not allow to heal. He felt the familiar uneven skin and observed the differences from the pale thinning lines of old scars compared to the harsh redness and sensitivity to touch of the newer ones.

Seeing these morbid marks on his flesh coupled with the knowledge that he had made them himself was oddly intoxicating. It helped to tide him over between cuttings. As long as he didn't risk visiting his 'hiding spot' too often he could probably continue this for the few years left that he would have to be confined at that orphan home and never be caught. When he turned eighteen he would retrieve his possessions from there and cut at his leisure. A gruesome smile flickered on his face at the very thought.

He felt his eyelids droop, and he silently cursed Shukaku because it was trying to get him to fall asleep; this meant the beast was still awake and he would get even less rest then usual. Gaara always made sure to only fall asleep when Shukaku had fallen asleep first, and to wake up well before it did. On his luckier nights he could possibly get three and a half hours' sleep or so. Seeing as it was three in the morning by now he doubted he'd get more then one. Especially seeing as he would have to wake up before dawn to get to school.

That meant somewhere in the range of two hours or so. Somewhere after five and before six he expected to start hearing the rustling noises of Naruto and his uncle getting ready for the new day. Just a little before four he felt Shukaku drift off to sleep. He waited fifteen minutes just to be sure then set his cellphone to go off in an hour, this he kept in his hand as he gratefully thought no more. An instant, seemingly, to Gaara he jumped silently awake by his phone vibrating in his hand. Grateful he hadn't taken it out of silent mode so he didn't wake the others, he shook himself awake. It was a quarter after five in the morning still and the whole place was still silent. Gaara got up to use the bathroom and to get a drink of water.

After waiting a few minutes longer he heard one alarm clock go off, not ten seconds later it was shut off and Gaara could hear muttered cursings. Sounds of movement followed, Gaara quickly got comfortable under the covers and acted like he had been woken up by the alarm clock of Naruto's uncle, who peeked into Gaara's room.

"You're up already?"

"Light sleeper." Gaara said simply, and this was true enough.

"No kidding, I gotta practically wrestle Naruto from his bed every morning and you wake up to my alarm from down the hall." Kyuubi said nodding, Gaara thought he saw a frown pass the man's face but wrote it off as early morning sleepiness.

As Gaara dressed for school it did indeed sound like Kyuubi was wrestling with his nephew. Gaara went to the bathroom to fix his hair when he realized he had no toothbrush. The mere realization made him cringe; he loathed the horrid feeling in your mouth you get before you brush your teeth. He walked into Naruto's bare room to ask Naruto's uncle if they had a spare when he saw the pair of them almost literally wrestling. Naruto, whose eyes were still closed, was half on half off his bed clinging to his blanket and sheets for dear life, and Kyuubi had Naruto's ankles trying to pull Naruto off. Gaara did an about face and wet a washcloth with freezing cold water in the bathroom sink. When he walked back into the room he wrung the wet washcloth out on Naruto's feet.

To call the noise Naruto made because of this action anything but a shriek would be generous indeed. But Naruto was now awake and glaring daggers at Gaara. Gaara paid absolutely no attention at all and informed the older man that he had no toothbrush. Gasping for breath Kyuubi went to the bathroom drawer and pulled out a new one. Gaara thanked him.

At breakfast, which was more like quick toast with jam Gaara asked if Kyuubi would be making coffee, when he answered 'yes' he asked for some.

Quickly pouring the hot beverage into a thermos, Kyuubi sent them off to catch the train that would take them to school. Gaara drank the coffee black and was done before they arrived at their stop. Naruto's eyes went a little wide as this boy who couldn't be too much older then he was drank what had to have been two or three cups of black coffee that had been made by his uncle. And that man liked his coffee strong.

As they got off the train Gaara noticed that he and Naruto were getting strange looks. He studied Naruto's face instead of just looking at it. Naruto hadn't bothered to cover his whiskers, and now that he thought of it he was sure he hadn't reapplied his eyeliner. He took Naruto by the arm and led him to the bathroom. Naruto gasped at his refection and hurriedly applied his concealer to his face. Though to Gaara and any passing man it still looked like a ladies' compact. But Gaara was busy redrawing the circles around his eyes. And passersby wrote him off as one of those freaky gothic punks. He was certainly wearing the appropriate shirt.

At the imposing brick structures Naruto seemed to lose his composure a little. Out of sheer determination to not look like a coward he pressed on while every reasonable and unreasonable thought in his head was to run in the exact opposite direction. They got to their lockers and retrieved the necessary books and deposited the ones they would need later. Gaara led the way to the classroom because Naruto still didn't know quite where to go.

This day Naruto was able to enter the class with more confidence then yesterday. Somewhere in the back of his mind the Kyuubi smirked idly to itself, it was doing a rather good job of repressing Naruto's more disturbing memories and feelings and the boy could possibly have a normal day at school, that is, if everything went well.

The Kyuubi glared hard past the confines of it's cage, there was the anomaly, taunting the demon. The Kyuubi would have attacked but it had it's tails full just suppressing everything Naruto forgot during his sleep the previous day. And because it could not attack was why the thing was so close. It was an insect, one the Kyuubi dearly longed to swat. But it had it's uses and even if the Kyuubi was able to destroy the creature, it knew better then to act on it's desires. The problem with this anomaly was that it would indulge it's own desires and disregard Naruto's needs. Unless, 'convinced' otherwise.

The Kyuubi snarled. That thing could wreck everything, and it was becoming more active. **Where do you think you're going?**

It turned to the demon within it's cage, _Oh, nowhere yet, but I do love to learn more about humans, so I'm going to wait for third period. It's fun. _

**You don't have any business using Naruto's body.**

_Yes, but I am not bound to repay any debts like you are._

**You shouldn't even exist anymore, Naruto doesn't have need of you anymore.**

_But 'that one' has turned up again, I pulled myself out of storage, where you **banished** me, to help._

**What a filthy pack of lies!**

_Humans would say 'what a load of shit,' but you wouldn't know that would you?_

**I'm not human.**

_And that is why I am needed now._

**But you aren't necessarily human either. You're just a defense Naruto created and now you do as you please. You're no more human then I am.**

_Now, in that you are wrong. I'm more human then you but not a real one. I have a conscious mind within this prison-_

**You are not one who has the right to talk of prisons.**

_Of course not. _The thing said eyeing the Kyuubi's cage with caution_. But you are in no position to stop me otherwise._

**Keep talking vermin. One day I will give you what you deserve.**

_I **deserve** to really exist._

**You _deserve_ to perish.**

_So says you._

The Kyuubi snarled. How it loathed this entity.

Naruto blinked, he had felt a sudden and brief wave of fury, but it had gone as quickly as it had come. He sat next to Gaara and watched as Gaara drummed his fingers on his desk. Naruto absentmindedly fingered the ring on his right thumb twisting the band round and round on his finger. His left thumb felt the indent of the 'E' and Gaara continued to drum on his desk. Naruto took the ring off and studied the band.

"How do I get one of these? I want to give you your ring back."

Gaara stopped his drumming; he looked passively from the ring to Naruto. "Keep it, I wanted to get one in black anyways." he resumed the steady rhythm of his fingers. He turned his head away from Naruto and closed his eyes in a bored fashion. By doing this he didn't see Naruto flush slightly. Naruto held the ring up and shrugged. He slipped it back on his thumb and got out a worn black spiral notebook. He flipped to somewhere to the middle and began to make a series of dashes and dots. After a few minutes of this he put the notebook away and looked up nervously.

Sasuke was standing over him with a questioning look on his face. "What was that?"

"None of you're business, Chicken Shit." Naruto said coolly. He began to pack up his things, the movement caused Gaara to look at him again, "Where are you going?"

"Chicken Shit here wants his seat obviously. I'm going to find a free seat." Naruto said not looking at either of them but jabbing his thumb over his shoulder in Sasuke's direction. Naruto threw his backpack over his shoulder and walked off.

Gaara looked around. There were no more free seats close by. But there was one across the room near that dog-boy Kiba and the lazy asshole Shikamaru. Gaara would have preferred to have Naruto closer, though why it mattered so much to him would be something to ponder in late hours of the night, not now.

"You are a prick, Uchiha. Making such a fuss over a stupid seat. Can't you leave Naruto alone for a bit? He doesn't know anyone other then me." Gaara spat acidly.

Sasuke's temper flared up immediately, "What do you care? You don't treat anyone else like humans, so why should he be any different? Anyways I came over here to tell him something, not to take his seat. He just assumed that. Oh, and next time you want to jump to conclusions Gaara. Don't." he snarled, sitting down though still fuming.

But back to Naruto on the other side of the room.

Naruto sat down in the empty seat next to a brunette with bright red triangles on his cheeks. They almost put Naruto's thin whisker markings to shame. His eyes were sharp and animalistic and he wore a gray hooded jacket with a fur lining. Hs face was confident, if slightly tired. He turned as Naruto sat down.

"Hey, you're new right?" he asked casually. Naruto nodded, now that he was well away from anyone he knew he had retreated into a timid, quieter version of himself. The kind of person who doesn't like to talk to those he isn't acquainted with because they make him nervous.

The boy looked at his right hand. Or more precisely, the ring on his thumb. "No way; so what's your kekkei genkai?"

"I don't have one." Naruto said truthfully, this boy was easy to talk to, and reminded him of himself before his life started to crumble around his feet.

"Then do you have a demon?" Naruto blinked twice.

"How does everyone in the damn school know about that?" Naruto asked, now not feeling nervous and shy at all.

"That ring. It's a dead give away. It's only issued to those who have extra abilities by blood line, or demons, or hard work and sweat. People like that get everything. Mostly 'cause the staff doesn't want to be on the receiving end of those abilities. You people are feared 'cause you're powerful but loved and respected for the same reasons. It's para...para... Yo! Shikamaru! What's that one word? Para...popcicle or somthin'?

"It's 'paradoxical', you nimrod." Said a brunette boy in a lazy drawl.

"Shut up! Just cause your smart doesn't mean you can insult me!" The first boy said hotly.

"You're taste in jackets insults you." The Shikamaru boy told him flatly. "I only take the time to occasionally mock you when you unknowingly allow yourself to be openly mocked. I wouldn't bother otherwise. It's just too much wasted effort."

"Hey, I happen to like this jacket!" the first boy half shouted.

"Kiba. You do realize that that went right over your head right?" Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"You wanna fight?" Kiba said standing up.

"You are troublesome." Shikamaru said rubbing his temples slowly.

"We haven't introduced ourselves, I'm Uzumaki, Naruto Kiba-kun, Shikamaru-kun." Naruto said hastily trying to change the subject. Kiba bristled at the suffix.

"My name's Inuzuka, Kiba. And don't use that honorific. It's creepy. Just call me kiba."

"Nara, Shikamaru. Call me what you like. I don't care." Shikamaru said lethargically.

"Hey, aren't you that kid that called Uchiha 'Chicken Shit'? Didn't you have cut's on your face?" Kiba asked looking at Naruto intently. Naruto nodded warily.

"You rock out loud! You had the balls to say that to his face. You are my rolemodel and I will strive to be as bronze-" kiba exclaimed throwing an arm around Naruto's neck.

"That's 'brazen'." Shikamaru cut in.

"-as you are!" Kiba finished as though Shikamaru hadn't spoken.

Naruto pushed Kiba off him and began to laugh. "You're a riot! Now you're _my_ role model, I want to be an idiot like you!" Shikamaru and Naruto and those listening in on their loud conversation had a laugh at Kiba's expense. Kiba huffed but smiled all the same.

"Can't you ever think of others, Inuzuka? We can't even have a decent conversation over your voice. Didn't your mother train you at all?" came a harsh voice from towards the front of the class. The girl whom the voice belonged to was striding up to them.

"And you! New kid! If memory serves correctly you defiled Sasuke-kun's good name by calling him-- but I won't repeat it. Anyways, if you ever commit such sacrilege ever again you'll have us to deal with."

"Sacrilege implies a religion. There is no 'Church of Sasuke' and you know that, Haruno." Shikamaru said staring coolly out the window to watch the clouds, so he never saw her glare daggers at him.

"Who's us?" Naruto asked, completely nonplussed.

"_We_ are part of Sasuke's official fanclub. Not to be confused with Sasuke's _un_official fanclub." 'Haruno said snootily, Naruto blanched, _There are official and unofficial clubs?_

"I thought you had to drop out of the club if you get a boyfriend." Kiba said scratching at one of the red triangles on his cheek.

There isn't any rule that says that. And it is very rude to scratch yourself in the presence of a lady.

"Well, it's a good thing that you aren't a lady then isn't it? But really Kiba, you should apologize to any ladies that may have seen you." Naruto said grinning toothily at Kiba.

Kiba grinned back, "Oh, well then I hope Hinata-chan will find it in her heart to forgive me." He swept over to a black haired girl with pale eyes, dropped spectacularly to one knee and kissed her hand in a playful manner. Regardless of his casual demeanor the girl called Hinata promptly blushed and stuttered, "K-K-Kiba-kun, y-y-you shouldn't p-p-play around like th-that. Neji-s-s-san..." but she broke off seeming to lose her nerve.

The bell rang and the teacher called the class to order. Naruto, feeling much better then he had yesterday paid attention for a good part of the class, but found his thoughts meandering back to the pretty Haku whom he would be sitting next to in next period.

Gaara however did not pay much attention to class at all. He sat there fuming silently, over what exactly he really didn't know. He was angry that Naruto had to sit on the other side of the classroom, he was angry that Naruto looked so comfortable and happy without him and his company. He wanted to strangle Sakura, though this wasn't anything new, but now he wanted to strangle her for yelling at Naruto. he wanted to hit Kiba for touching Naruto... and for making him laugh so easily...he was furious that he didn't know the answer to Uchiha's question: 'What do you care? You don't treat anyone else like humans, so why should he be any different?' the truth was he really didn't know.

He would be confined to his room for a few days because this would be his fifth or sixth time breaking curfew in two months, he could search for the answer then.

He didn't notice the bell had rung. But he did notice his classmates standing up and getting their things. He and Naruto walked to their next class, Naruto talking incessantly all the while.

"Kiba's soo funny, he's actually not as much of the idiot that I first thought he was, he just has trouble fully waking up in the mornings. He got a bunch of words wrong and Shikamaru had to keep correcting him. There's this other boy, Shino, I think, I thought he was blind at first but for some reason he's allowed to wear his sunglasses in school. I dunno, but then there's Choji, now there's a guy who has his priorities straight. Food first, the rest later; if you stop eating. He's actually pretty nice between mouthfuls of food. Ha, ha, ha... hah... Gaara? Are you even listening to me?"

Naruto started walking backwards and turned to look into Gaara's downcast face. "Hello-o! Gaara? Earth to Gaara, come in Gaara, come in, we are losing communications."

"Huh?" Gaara had only been half listening. He found it made him feel better when he thought that Naruto could have walked to his next class with those boys he just named but chose to walk with him.

"Hey, I have a question for you."

"What?"

"Haku. Is Haku going out with anyone? 'Cause if not I wouldn't mind!" Naruto said with a fanged grin.

Gaara's eyes widened. "Naruto...you like...Haku? You're like that?"

"Are your chromosomes in order? Who wouldn't like a hottie like Haku?"

"Naruto, I didn't know you were into guys."

Naruto jumped back a few good feet and looked at Gaara like he had grown a second head. "What are you nuts? Hell no I'm not! What made you think I was?"

"Haku's a guy. A bunch of guys tailed him to the bathrooms and he is definitely a guy." Gaara explained simply not knowing that Naruto had never realized.

"No way, when Haku fell down the stairs I coulda sworn the butt I grabbed was a girl's."

"You copped a feel? On _Haku_?"

"If you see a person falling down the stairs with a pretty face you're going to assume it's a girl and assume it's safe to get a free feel. I seriously thought it was a girl, he had even said 'Kyaa!' I mean c'mon! How was I supposed to know?"

"So you still groped him."

"That information dies with you." Naruto said pointing a finger threateningly at him.

"I'll take it to my grave and not tell a soul be I living or dead." Gaara said holding up a hand to calm Naruto.

"Do you swear it?"

Gaara smirked, "From the bottom of the empty abyss that swallowed my heart and soul." He said in a morbid sort of voice that made Naruto's skin crawl a bit.

Naruto was about to make a comment but they had arrived at Health class. Naruto sat down next to Haku and tried to act normally. He looked at his sensei and found him to be reading... but he couldn't be... not at school... Icha-Icha? But was it paradise, violence or.. or.. What was the last one? Naruto looked away, embarrassed.

"He's often reading those books, but he doesn't get into trouble, the principal writes them under a false pen name." Haku told him blandly. Naruto blanched, "the principle?"

"Yes, what a lovely thought huh?" Haku said with a little smile. Naruto shifted awkwardly in his seat. Haku caught on, "You just found out I wasn't the girl of your dreams?"

Naruto nearly fell out of his seat in surprise, but Haku caught his wrist. Naruto nodded ashamedly and Haku told him that he was used to it by now and to not worry about it.

"But if I catch you trying to feel me up again Zabuza will have some things to say to you."

"Who's that?"

"My... caretaker ... of sorts..." Haku said slowly a slight coloration gracing his cheeks.

Naruto nodded. "You care for this Zabuza?"

"Deeply." Haku said nodding also.

Naruto cocked his head to one side, "Do you mean like that?"

Haku frowned, "Like what?"

"I mean care for them as in love."

Haku's eyes widened, he stared at Naruto as if he had never seen anything like him before. And the color on his cheeks grew more pronounce. "When did I start to feel that way I wonder..."

"Don't ask me I've never been in love." Naruto said with a shrug; Haku laughed, a kind, soft laugh that made him seem even more girly to Naruto's eyes.

"Humor me."

Naruto considered the question. "You never really know who or when you're going to fall in love. But when you do, you face the danger that your feelings may not be returned, or you may grow apart, or you'll get your heart broken, or there will be hard times because there will be hard times, times when the thought of being in love is laughable. If you care more for that person then you do these dangers then go for it. Go all out. Life is short and anything can happen so grab any happiness you can and hold on for dear life. or at least that's what I think, but again, I've never been in love, save with ramen, but I don't think that counts."

Haku laughed again, "You said that 'person', not that 'girl'."

"Well, I don't know which you prefer. And it makes no never mind to me who they are or what they are." Naruto said scratching behind his head.

Haku smiled. "Any girl would have given you a thank you kiss on the cheek for such a romantic speech."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Uzumaki! Can you tell me any thing that I just said?" kakashi said looking at the pair of them Icha-Icha book still in hand.

"What do I care sensei? Health class is basically: this is how your body works, this is how you can get sick, this is how you treat injuries, and this is how you get STD's." Naruto said rudely. He hadn't realized that class had started around him.

"Very good Naruto. You and your partner don't get homework tonight. Now as I was saying --"

Naruto turned slowly to Haku, Haku was looking at him incredulously. "I didn't even know class had started." Naruto told him in a stunned, far off voice.

"Then how did you do that?" Haku said also in a bewildered voice.

"No idea. But, looking a gift horse in the mouth isn't smart."

"Yeah, thank God for small favors." Haku said nodding.

"I stopped believing in god at the age of eight." Naruto blurted out loud.

Haku stared, "At around the same age, so did I."

Naruto seemed to be making friends wherever he turned. It felt nice, if strange to have others to lean on, to tell parts of his story to.

Naruto fell asleep at the beginning of third period and didn't wake up till the end bell. He found a worksheet on his desk, filled out and in what looked to be Gaara's handwriting. He turned it into the teacher. The teacher smiled at him warmly and took the paper.

In the hall Naruto turned to Gaara and said. "Thanks for doing that worksheet on my desk for me."

"That? That was our homework. And you did it yourself. I haven't even started yet. I was going to ask you to help me on it."

Naruto shook his head confused, "But that's not even my handwriting. I slept through the entire period. I don't remember a thing, so I couldn't help you if I wanted to."

Gaara looked confusedly at the blonde. Naruto had been the most eager to participate. The subject came so easy to him, and his attitude seemed somewhat different the entire time. It was the same as yesterday too, Naruto had come out of the class with no memory of it. This was starting to worry him a little bit.

At their lockers Naruto asked what class he had next. Gaara remembered it was one of the few classes that he didn't have with him.

"You have Math, I have Science. But we'll be in Japanese class together."

"Oh, and I wanted to hang out with Kiba and the others at break, I hope it's alright; I mean, I won't hurt your feelings right?"

Despite what Gaara was going to tell Naruto it hurt him deeply that he would be spending time without him. "It's fine. I have to make a call anyways, and anyone else in this school would never ask if anything would hurt my feelings."

"Why? You that tough?"

"No, they think I'm that cold." Naruto had no reply to this, though he made a few vain attempts, in the end he walked slowly away from Gaara, telling him he'd see him in Japanese class if he didn't get lost. Gaara waved goodbye and made his way to the stairs towards the roof.

As he expected the number Naruto had called was still in his cellphone's history. He called the number and asked the secretary to let him speak with Tsunade. She patched him through.

"Dr. Tsunade speaking.

"It's Gaara, Naruto's friend. Umm, I don't really know how to explain this but, Naruto's having memory lapses. He'll be perfectly normal and then next minute boom! He won't remember what happened during the last hour."

"It could simply be the Kyuubi. I don't see why you called." Tsunade replied easily.

"It's only during third period, during Psychology, during that class Naruto is a little different. And the way he acts is nothing like the Kyuubi. It's like another person altogether." Gaara argued, "It's starting to worry me, cause it's happening for no reason. That time he switched to the Kyuubi he got really scared because of Uchiha-sempai. Another thing is, he saw the handwriting he used on today's psychology homework before he turned it in early and he said it wasn't his. But he wrote it!"

"Thank you, I'll address this in our next session."

"And one other thing, I'm sorry I eavesdropped."

"You're helping Naruto, it can't all have been such a catastrophe. And lord knows I could use another pair of eyes outside the office." Tsunade said by way of forgiving him. "Just, the next time you try, I'll see you hung by your hair outside my 37th floor window, personally."

"Yes ma'am!" Gaara said in shock and a bit of fear, he didn't doubt that crazy woman would carry out her threat.

He hung up his cellphone and made his way slowly to his classroom towards his Science class. Even though he loathed the subject and didn't care much for it's teacher, he would have given anything to be headed to Math.

He wondered why.

**End the drama here!**

Over six thousand two hundred words! Yippee! I've left my old goal in the dust! I love writing this fic! I had a bit of writers' block towards the beginning but I feel confident in my fic! Eleven pages in Vendana eight! Damn!

As always and forever this fic is dedicated to my truly awesome and most valued friend and beta Kyuubi-san. Who is a fellow angst lover. I hope you like it Kyuubi-san. I even wrote Gaara wearing that T-shirt you have!

Review or I shall be mortally offended and not write so much for my next chapter and/or leave you with a horrible cliffhanger! Remember to review and I shall write! Reviews spur me to not disappoint my readers! Please review, I want to know you people like my fic. Even one-liners are welcome but constructive criticisms will be greatly appreciated.


	6. Battles Won, Battles Lost

**Back to Hell, I Mean School  
By: Shozetsku  
Authoress Notes:**

Raise your hand if you want to kill me? -looks at the raised hands- ... shit. Yes I left this for over a year. No I didn't abandon it. But of course I had monster writer's block. YES, I'm excruciatingly sorry. No, I don't mind if you flame me for the lateness. BUT ONLY for the lateness.

**Chapter 6:** Battles Won, Battles Lost

Naruto followed the main crowd and unknowingly was led to the cafeteria; just outside it Naruto spotted Kiba, kicking a soda machine with unnecessary ferocity. As Naruto got closer to the brunette his dollar was spat back out of the machine and two sodas dropped into the opening, Kiba looked up to see Naruto and handed him one after pocketing the dollar.

"Cheers!" he said happily unscrewing the lid and taking a long drink. Naruto just looked at the soda in his hand.

"Isn't that stealing?" Naruto asked, Kiba looked at him but didn't answer. Clapping a hand to his mouth he gave a muffled belch.

"Actually it is, and one day your going to get caught at it Kiba." Shino said walking up to them, Shikamaru and Chouji accompanying him.

"You keep saying that and I still haven't been caught. Really Shino, you're being so penitent." Kiba said taking another gulp of his soda.

Shikamaru rubbed his temples, "The word is petulant! And I keep telling you not to use big words before fifth period!"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Who asked you? Just admit I'm right and you're wrong."

Shikamaru looked ready to punch Kiba's face in. But he just scoffed, "You are just so trou-ble-some. Or you could be drunk, I don't wanna check. But for sure you're troublesome."

Kiba stuck his tongue out at him, "So are you." Naruto looked at them and he laughed. All four of them looked at him.

"What's so funny?" Chouji asked between bites of food. Naruto laughed harder, "You guys are such good friends."

They all looked at him, but Naruto refused to answer their silent questions. He unscrewed the lid of his own soda and took a long drink. "Ahh!" he said with a contented sigh, "The fruits of petty larceny!" he burped loudly, and a boy with dark hair and pale skin and eyes walked past looking disgusted. "Ugh, really Naruto, I pegged you for someone with more class than that." Naruto looked at the back of the boy, who kept walking away from them. How had he known his name? Did he know him, were they in a class together?

"Whoa! You know Neji-senpai?" Kiba asked looking amazed.

"Oh yeah, Hyuuga-senpai's in my psychology class, he's usually nicer to me though." Naruto said coolly, then he blinked; he had gotten a weird feeling for a moment but it passed. He'd have to apologize later; Neji was the touchy type.

"C'mon, Math class is nowhere near here. And we'll be yelled at if we're late." Kiba said after chugging the rest of his soda. The rest of them followed his lead down the hallways, Naruto, suddenly struck with curiosity asked, "So who teaches math?"

"Anko-sensei, she's a demon." Chouji said through his chip-filled mouth. Shikamaru scoffed, "And the worst part is that Iruka-sensei is still out, so we have her again for Japanese."

Naruto's face fell as he climbed a random staircase, "That witch took my cell phone on my first day here."

"Yeah, she's evil like that. Just don't ask her any questions, she hates that. If you don't understand the math homework then you're on your own." Kiba said acidly.

"I take it you don't get math." Naruto said placidly.

"The only part of math I get is the part that pertains to money." Kiba snorted.

"Now just imagine what it's like to tutor him." Shino said sourly. Naruto laughed and clapped Shino on the back, "Man, oh man, do I ever pity you Shino." Shino seemed to bristle a little at the human contact but did not pull away.

As it turned out Naruto didn't have anything to worry about because when he had a tutor he actually had gotten very far ahead of the math class he had been put in, all he had was one or two more chapters and he would have been done with the course. Naruto spent most of the class period helping Kiba as much as he could and answering random math questions from Anko that weren't always about the chapter the class was studying at all. Apparently, Anko-sensei thought he was a chronic liar, and being proved wrong only worsened her mood and her opinion of him.

By the end of math class Naruto and Anko had reached an unspoken mutual understanding. That understanding was, "_**I HATE YOU**_!!!!!!!" this wasn't a very good thing considering that Naruto would have her for a teacher again for his Japanese class.

Naruto decided to work on his last two chapters at home to keep ahead of the regular class. He had the distinct feeling that he wasn't going to be able to learn any math from Anko.

Not soon enough for Naruto nor Kiba's liking, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Naruto couldn't believe that he hadn't had lunch yet. Japanese class was held in a classroom that Naruto felt that he wouldn't hate. He didn't know why the room gave that impression; it just did. He found Gaara and set his books down next to him. Gaara listened as Naruto gave a low rant about Anko before class started.

"Alright listen up! Iruka is still out and I'm still subbing this class, and since he left you while you were practicing your essays we're going to continue on that track because I'm too damn lazy to try to teach you something new in a field I didn't get a teaching degree in."

There was a collective groan around the room; some people put their heads together to ask questions and talking with their neighbors.

"I'm repeating myself because we have a new student." Anko said answering their whispered questions, "You! Stand." She said pointing at him. Naruto scowled, he wasn't in the mood to deal with her at the moment, he was in a very sour mood, he was soo hungry, "My name is not You." Naruto stated flatly.

"Fine. Be a wise ass. I'll be making phone calls to Europe on your cell phone." Anko said smugly.

Naruto scowled so hard at her that even Gaara stared at him wide eyed, "The country code for France is 33 I think, so have a ball. I said my name is not You." Gaara blinked at his obnoxious audacity and immediately regretted not thinking of it first, he loved the twisted look of fury on Anko's face; but they all paid dearly for Naruto's rudeness.

"One page front and back about your transition from childhood to adulthood." Anko stated to the class, they all groaned, "Don't look at me, he's the one you should glare at." a few people turned in their chairs to glare at Naruto but they might as well not have bothered. Naruto was already digging in his bag for his binder and ripped out a sheet of paper and began to write.

Gaara leaned over his bag to pull out paper for himself, but he had a perfect view of Naruto's paper and he stopped.

His eyes darted across the paper and after reading the words there he stared at Naruto in disbelief. Naruto wasn't done though. He heard an irritated cough from the front of the class and he went back to fishing for paper.

He had just finished putting the heading on his paper when Naruto stood up. Gaara caught a glimpse of the paper in his hand. There was a paragraph, if that, with his name scrawled at the top. Naruto all but stomped to the teacher's desk and almost literally threw the paper at her before leaving the room.

"That's a referral." she said coolly, not caring whatsoever. She was more interested in what he had written. Gaara watched her dark eyes travel back and forth down the paper. He braced himself for the explosion.

He waited.

He waited.

But nothing happened.

Anko was just staring at the paper, it read:

_My transition from childhood to adolescence is none of your business. I'm not joking, call speed dial number three on the cell phone you confiscated from me and ask to speak with Dr. Tsunade and ask her if my 'transition' is any of your business. She'll tell you, in less polite words, that that is highly sensitive and privileged information and that you have no right to pursue it. And in case you can't read my name at the top of this paper I'll write it again. "UZUMAKI NARUTO" In case you were ignoring me, I'll say it again. My name is not You. I thought I should tell you that I'm not feeling well. I'm going to the bathroom. As you may or may not have noticed, I have left my books in class. I am coming back. If I ever get done throwing up._

* * *

Naruto ran the sink water as he bent over the counter. His shoulders shook horribly as he fought the urge to throw up. His transition... was beyond imagination. For the most part, the physical transition happened in that psychiatric ward. But really, he had left his childhood behind when he was eight... he stopped thinking as another wave of nausea crashed over him, sending him headfirst into the sink. As luck would have it, Sasuke Uchiha had entered the bathroom, the door of the bathroom opened and Sasuke saw Naruto, sick over the sink. 

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked, cautiously stepping towards Naruto. Naruto flinched horribly, Sasuke backed away.

"Don't -gasp- talk." Naruto managed to say between dry heaves into the sink. "You -cough, cough- you sound like -wheeze- him."

That was all that needed to be said. Sasuke shut his mouth, but he still wanted to help the boy, Naruto looked like he was having an attack of some kind. He reached out to help brace Naruto but stopped before he touched him, he looked into the mirror at the blonde's reflection. Naruto looked up into his, Sasuke's silent plea for permission was granted by a rigid nod of the blonde's head.

Sasuke placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder while he used his other hand to rub small circles on Naruto's back. After a few minutes of this, Naruto seemed to calm down a bit. Naruto coughed and the taste of stomach acid crept into his mouth, he coughed into the sink and ran the water. Bringing the water to his mouth with his cupped hand, Naruto tried desperately to get the taste of rising bile out of his mouth.

Sasuke bit his lip; it was hard not to at least ask if the boy was okay. After a few moments of Sasuke just standing over Naruto, rubbing small circles on his back in a silent effort to calm him down, Naruto stood up slowly, "Ugh, and I have lunch next too." Naruto paused, "Well. At least I didn't throw up. Thanks Sasuke, you're really not so bad." Sasuke said nothing. "Man, do I hate Anko. Do you have her for a teacher?" Sasuke could tell that Naruto was trying to play off his nausea spell so that he was left with some dignity, Sasuke nodded, "After lunch." He said tentatively.

Naruto didn't seem perturbed by him speaking anymore. "She's a demon isn't she?" Naruto laughed a bit. Sasuke though, couldn't find the humor in the situation. He cleared his throat and began, very softly, "…so…" he waited for a reaction from Naruto. When he saw the blonde expecting him to say something he continued, "Are you okay now?" Naruto gave a slight nod and Sasuke asked again, "May I inquire as to what brought this," Sasuke swept a hand over to the sink, "about?"

Naruto quirked a brow at Sasuke and then replied, "It's high school. Don't you get nauseous?"

Sasuke smiled a little and agreed with the blonde. He accepted Naruto's answer, for now at least. An awkward silence fell over them, and both mutually agreed it was time to leave. "See ya around, Sasuke." Naruto exited the bathroom, What class does he even have right now? I wonder if we have any more classes together? He wondered idly.

Sasuke left without another word heading in the opposite direction of Naruto. With a shrug, Naruto meandered back to class praying he remembered the way back at all.

Anko did not even look up from her desk as he entered the class. He returned to his seat, still receiving a few glares from his fellow classmates for the unexpected assignment he had landed them all in. He plopped into his chair, exhausted, and opened his notebook. He half lay on his desk and began doodling.

Gaara, on the other hand, was trying to figure out any possible explanation for the behavior portrayed by his teacher. He considered every possibility from chemicals in the water to aliens to body snatchers even considering fairies, alternate realities, and ghosts.

Thankfully the lunch bell rang, the few students that were not finished with the assignment rushed to write a few sentences for a conclusion before they turned their essays in.

Naruto and Gaara packed their things and left the classroom together, Gaara waited for Anko to call Naruto out and keep him during lunch, to hand him a referral, to cuss him out, to do SOMETHING DAMNIT! But Anko was blatantly not looking at them as they passed.

"Where are we going to sit at lunch Gaara?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious. Gaara's jaw tightened unexpectedly, he fought to keep his voice casual, "I like the quiet so I usually eat outside, I kind of have a favorite spot, of sorts..." he trailed off. In truth he hated people and they're stares at him, so he ate in seclusion.

Gaara was no fool in regards to the rumors that flew around the school about him, he was the disowned, disgraced, and probably delinquent son of a businessman that was not known for his generosity as he was known for being fearsome, stonehearted, and merciless. Which meant that if his father was that bad then he must have done something downright horrible to get disowned. Was he a drug dealer? Did he get arrested? Did he kill someone?

The horrible part of it was the last one was true, his mother died while in labor with him. He would have died anyways if his mother hadn't made a pact with the demon that now resided within him. She had been so determined to give him a chance at life, even though she knew she would never hold him in her arms. But the light of the Sabaku household died giving him life, and in her luminous presence she left a shadow. Temari and Kankuro were barely old enough to understand but they figured out the gist of it.

Their father had all of his hopes on Kankuro to succeed him, Temari though older and arguably more brilliant would have been a better choice but their father was old fashioned. Gaara's personal opinion was their father was a jackass with a capital 'fucker'. Their father hated Gaara, he barely acknowledged him, Gaara's birthdays where bitter affairs. Most of the day spent in front of their mother's grave, surrounded by media. But every night Temari would steal Kankuro away and they would hold a small celebration of Gaara, the cakes were always store bought, the presents were small, and it was always a forlorn event as most times they never changed out of their black mourning clothes, but Gaara loved them both for it.

He ran a hand through his hair making a point to touch his 'Ai' tattoo as he remembered one of his more recent presents.

Kankuro had been grinning at him all that afternoon after they had gotten back from the graveyard. While the expression was foreign it wasn't unwelcome, and Kankuro refused to explain himself. There was the usual cake and off-key singing of 'Happy Birthday' and the presentation of Temari's present, a wolf's fang hanging on a silver chain, or at least that's what the store clerk had told her it was. Gaara had thanked her and put the necklace on at once. Kankuro raised his hands and said that his gift wasn't there, and that Gaara would have to wait for it until tomorrow. Kankuro got a much bigger allowance then his siblings and saved up his spare pocket money to take Gaara to a tattoo and piercing store. He thought that Gaara would want to get his cartilage pierced or something but Gaara decided instead on a tattoo. They would need a permission slip but Kankuro was way ahead of them, he'd been to the store before and picked up the permission form and tricked their father into signing it quickly while he was very busy.

Of all places Gaara wanted the tattoo on his face, on his forehead no less! Love, he wanted love, somehow Temari saw some deep symbolism in the act. She knew exactly why Gaara always wore long sleeves, it was a sort of open secret at home. Amazingly Gaara sat through the procedure without screaming or squirming; well, not so amazing really. Gaara was used to pain and knew that the ends justified the means.

When he got home their father was nowhere to be seen, in fact it was about five days before Gaara came face to face with his father.

To suddenly have his son appear before him with a fanged necklace, fishnet arm-sleeves, and a bright red tattoo on his forehead, of course he didn't take it well. The stress had been building between them for years; he'd never truly forgiven Gaara for the death of his wife no matter what he told the press. It was beyond the final straw, the camel's back had been broken long ago, it had just been to proud to admit it. The following fight was the worst ever, Temari stood out in the hallway crying onto Kankuro's shoulder. There had been several loud crashed as their father undoubtedly had started throwing things in his rage. Kankuro felt so guilty that his rash birthday present had caused this, and he told Gaara so as the two of them bandaged him up later. Gaara seemed not to care, he told his brother with the utmost sincerity that he didn't blame him in the slightest, that what he'd done was to lift the tension in the house that had been suffocating him. They didn't understand what he'd meant at the time, but before Shukaku had finished healing the cuts and bruises that had adorned his body he was almost done packing.

"I'm leaving." He told them, and while they dearly wanted to stop him they didn't, they knew Gaara and such words were wasted on him.

"Where will you go?" Temari asked. Gaara shrugged, "Probably to Uncle's, but I won't stay there long. I'm going to get it for this one."

"If you leave Dad's not going to willingly let you back in the house again." Kankuro said warningly, "He's not above kicking his own son out."

"I know." Gaara said calmly, "I'm mostly banking on it." Temari heaved a sigh but held out her hand and demanded, "Give me your phone." Gaara took out his cell, and after a few minutes of Temari fiddling with the buttons, she handed it back to him. "There. I've set up your speed dial. Your voicemail is number 1 and I'm number 2 and Kankuro's number 3. That way when we call or when you want to call us you just need to press and hold down one number." Gaara smiled, he'd never bothered with such things and it was good of Temari to not argue the point and still show she cared and wanted to keep in touch.

Then Gaara ran away from home, it was a rather unceremonious affair concidering the magnitude of the fight that had taken place not even an hour earlier but Gaara knew that it was past high time he left. In reaction, or rather retaliation, Kankuro was taken by his father who started him on a near insane tutoring regimen to prep him for taking over the company. Temari, left to look in between her two brothers turned to Gaara whom she felt needed her more. When Gaara finally settled down in the orphanage but several odd circumstances Temari tried to sneak Kankuro away to visit him. But their father seemed hell bent on separating the two brothers. Kankuro, forbidden to see Gaara, only obeyed their father because he wanted to be in a position of influence when Sabaku finally stepped down. That way he could bring Gaara back into the family and have the company as leverage over his father. It was only a few more years, and they could last that long. They had to.

Gaara gave his head a little shake, dragging himself out of his memories and back into the present where his trailing off like that had caused Naruto to stare at him oddly while walking backwards again.

"You know how weird that is?" he asked with childlike fascination, "To have you look right at me for five minutes when I know you aren't really looking at me?" he gave a grin that bared his fox fangs, "It was crazy weird!" he remarked jovially. He slid easily to Gaara's right side and began walking the normal way again.

"Oji-san packed us both lunches so where do we eat, I'm starving!" Naruto held up what looked to the ordinary eye like a small sports bag Naruto had slung over his shoulder. Gaara's eyes widened at the bag, "THAT'S our lunch?" he said in utter disbelief. Naruto looked puzzled and nodded, "Yeah, what else could it be?"

"Just how much of that do you assume I'm going to be eating?" Gaara asked, eyeing the bag warily. "Half." Naruto deadpanned.

"HALF?" Gaara nearly tripped on his own two feet.

"Well, Oji-san packed for two."

"Oh, since you put it THAT way it makes PERFECT sense." The sarcasm dripped from Gaara's mouth as he spoke.

Naruto grinned, "NOW do you believe that I eat like a horse? When we first met you didn't believe me." Gaara snorted rather uncharacteristically as the walked, "Any doubts that I had about your eating habits were blown away at dinner last night."

Naruto laughed, Gaara noted that it was a nice sound that he wanted to hear again. He could remember having the same feeling before too. Gaara lead them to a solitary bench under an awning that looked out onto the small patch of trees near the school. Naruto wasn't surprised that the place was peaceful and isolated, somehow Gaara struck him as that sort of person. They sat and ate, Naruto striking up a conversation and then supplying most of it himself.

The bell rang, it startled Gaara, usually he always anticipated lunch's end and was always early for his Trigonometry class; with Naruto the time seemed to disappear as he enjoyed himself in the other boy's company. "What class is next?" Naruto asked; Gaara looked at him, "Science with Kurenai-sensei."

Naruto grinned sheepishly, "And where is that?" Gaara sighed. "Let's go."

They walked up and down hallways and staircases as Naruto struggled to both keep a conversation flowing and memorize where he was going. Gaara opened the door and held it wide for Naruto who entered and looked back at Gaara. Gaara gave an awkward sort of wave saying, "See you after class Naruto." And he left.

The bottom dropped out of Naruto's world. This wasn't good, this did not compute, Gaara wasn't supposed to leave! Gaara was the only thing that kept him grounded in school with Itachi lurking around every corner. Not good, not good, not good, not good.

The Kyuubi looked at the thing that was just outside of his cage, it looked expectantly back, _Well? I'm not going to help if you're going to threaten my existence again. You have to ask me to help._

**You are not to make it known that you are anyone but Naruto Uzumaki. I'll help him, please cover interactions with others.** The Demon asked, closing it's eyes in defeat.

The thing smiled, _We need to work on your mode of speech_.

**Just go, before he loses consciousness and falls down in class.**

_Sure, sure._

Naruto ran, though he hardly knew where it was he wanted to go. He knew he wanted to see the Kyuubi again, but he didn't know where to go, he ran for what seemed like ever and wherever he ran seemed like both an empty void and an endless labyrinth. He passed a girl; or a woman, no, maybe she was a girl, and he stopped, "Who are you?"

"_The furball is that way Naruto_." She said and pointed into the distance; she smiled and walked down where he had run from.

"Who, who is she? What's she doing here?" he shook it off and ran in the direction she had indicated.

She smiled slightly to herself as she heard Naruto's hurried footsteps.

_Time for fun. I won't let that old fleabag get in my way._

**End the drama here!**

Eh, not bad, and yes the thing in Naruto's head is a girl. That's part of what took so long, figuring out it's gender, if any. I WANTED to finish the school day but I wanted to post this months ago. Here's part of Gaara's story as a bit of an apology.

I suck. But please review. Your reviews kept me going. As always this fic is written for the ever beautiful and sent to me from the editing angels, Kyuu-chan. Sorry I couldn't let you beta it first; I kinda wanted it up as soon as possible.

I promise not to be so long next time!


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